


Hold on, I still want you

by fanfics_she_wrote



Series: can you hear me screaming please don't leave me [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Caleb is an asshole, Fluff and Angst, Julie can hold her boys now, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PALINA, Post Season 1, The Author Regrets Everything, carrie and Julie are childhood friends and nothing will change my mind, carrie isn't heartless you're just mean, juke, no beta we die like illiterate fools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27117812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfics_she_wrote/pseuds/fanfics_she_wrote
Summary: She had her whole life ahead of her. She was going to be a star, a legend. She was going to makethemlegends. She was ready to take on the world.Instead, Caleb Covington got what he wanted.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Julie Molina, Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, blink and you'll miss it Reggie & Ray Molina
Series: can you hear me screaming please don't leave me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980683
Comments: 173
Kudos: 351





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie introduces Carlos to the boys.  
> The band discovers a new ability that needs mastering.

Julie Molina was certain of three things. One, her phantoms were -- aside from still being dead -- perfectly okay. Two, Caleb's curse was gone. Three, she could hug and hold her phantoms.

Actually, it was four things, the fourth being that she was incredibly exhausted.

Though very reluctantly, Alex was the first to let go of Julie. Reggie clung to Julie's arm like some sort of human-shaped snake and Luke seemed unwilling to lift his face out of Julie's shoulder. Like Alex, they were afraid that if they let go of Julie, they may never be able to hold her again but unlike Alex, they were ignoring of Julie's very human need to sleep.  
  
"Guys," Alex tried, attempting to peel Reggie away. "Guys, come on, Julie needs to go to bed."  
  
"Julie can go to bed _here_ ," Reggie said, trying to squeeze in between Julie and Luke.  
  
Alex sighed. "Reg, come on, you know that's not a good idea."  
  
"He's right," Julie murmured, "Carlos is waiting up for me."  
  
"Carlos can sleep here too," Reggie said, somehow making Luke laugh.  
  
Julie had heard Luke laugh before. She thought it was a beautiful sound. It was pure mirth when he laughed. Julie had seen Luke laugh before. His whole face scrunched up in unfiltered joy and he looked like he was at his happiest. But Julie had never _felt_ Luke laugh before. She'd never been able to feel his laugh travelling through his body and feel how his shoulders shook with the effort to keep it quiet before.  
  
Julie thought Luke's laughter was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Part of her wanted to give in and sleep in the garage, if only to stay holding on to Luke and make him laugh again. The logical part of her remained in control, though, and told her to tear herself away from Reggie and Luke.  
  
She gratefully accepted Alex's help and gave him a quick hug to thank him.  
  
"I'll see you in the morning, okay?"  
  
"Okay," they all sighed together, a little more than upset at not hugging their Julie anymore.  
  
Julie held on to the door for a moment. "I know I already said it again, but thank you, guys."  
  
They gave her warm and bright smiles as she reached for the light and flipped the switch. Even in the darkness, she could see how they beamed at her. She really did love her boys.

* * *

"So," Carlos said, pacing the length of the couch where Julie was seated in the middle. "These phantoms . . . what exactly are they?"

"Something tells me you already know," Julie said slowly, watching her little brother pace and think.  
  
"Yeah, but I wanna hear you say it. That way I don't think I'm crazy."  
  
Julie sighed and Carlos stopped in front of her. "Okay. They're ghosts. Actual ghosts. But not the kind you have to protect me from. They're good and nice and sweet and funny and safe. How did you figure it out anyway?"  
  
"Found this in an old box from the garage," Carlos said when his eyes had shrunk back to normal size, handing Julie a folded piece of paper.  
  
Julie pulled it open and grinned at Sunset Curve's members. She glanced at Carlos and patted the couch next to her.  
  
"This is Alex," she said, pointing to the blond in question, "he's our drummer. He's the emotional one, but that's just because he has a very big and soft heart. He has a lot of baby pink clothes and he never goes anywhere without his stupid little fanny pack. I don't know what's in it and at this point, I'm too afraid to ask. Alex is really sweet and sensitive and he knows how to tell when people are upset and what they need."  
  
Carlos looked to Julie eagerly when she paused. She gave him a smile and pointed to the paper again.  
  
"This is Reggie. He's our bassist and also the one who's been leaving your computer on rock music sites. He loves to talk to Dad all the time and if you ever feel one of your ghost tingles, it's probably Reggie. He's a sweetheart and he's just a little bit weird, but we love him just the way he is. He likes country music too and one of his dreams is that he'll get to release a country album one day. Reggie's like our little brother, even though he's older than me, and he does get a little bit bullied by the band but we always show him we love him and in our defence, he tends to throw some slightly nasty pranks."  
  
"Like spiders-in-your-bed nasty?"  
  
"For his sake, he better not." Julie narrowed her eyes. "And you better not either or I'll egg your wardrobe door."  
  
"I'll make a note of that."

Julie gave him a playful warning glare before pointing to Luke, a warm smile crossing her lips as she looked at him. "This is Luke. He's our guitarist and lead singer with me, and he's never heard of sleeves. He loves his beanie and his guitar more than he misses being alive, I think. He's an amazing songwriter and he's got the happiest smile I've ever seen. It's almost impossible not to smile if Luke smiles at you. He pours his heart and soul into his songs and comes up with the most amazing lyrics. He helped me finish mom's Stand Tall, the one we played at the Orpheum, and he's the one that pushed me into fighting for my spot in the music program. Luke is . . . he's the best."  
  
Julie's distant smile did not go unnoticed by Carlos, but he mercifully chose not to comment on it. Instead, he pointed to the fourth teen in the photo. "Who's that?"  
  
"That's Bobby. He was Sunset Curve's rhythm guitarist and back up vocalist. He . . . he wasn't with the boys when they died, so he got to grow up and old." Julie hesitated for a mere second. "He's also Carrie's dad."  
  
Carlos' eyes widened again. " _Trevor Wilson_ was in a band with your ghosties?"  
  
Julie nodded solemnly. "And his first album is all Sunset Curve songs that Luke wrote."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Hey, shh, we don't wanna wake Dad up. It's kinda late."  
  
Carlos stared at Julie, slack-jawed.  
  
"I know," Julie said, nodding. "I was surprised too. Super shocked and maybe a little bit stunned."  
  
"Did they haunt Carrie's dad? Please tell me they haunted him."  
  
"They did, and I think they had fun doing it. I still don't think it was right but I understand and I get why they did it. I probably would've done the same in their shoes."  
  
"And all this time, I thought we were being haunted by a chef."  
  
Julie smiled and pulled Carlos into a hug. "Well, you figured it out anyway. Clever kid."  
  
Carlos laughed and enjoyed the hug he received. "Hey, Julie?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"What's it like, knowing they're ghosts but still being able to see and hear them?"  
  
"Sometimes," Julie said honestly, "I forget they're dead. They're just so alive and full of passion and desire and energy and it would get overwhelming if I didn't need all of that to come alive myself. Sometimes I forget they're ghosts."  
  
"I wanna meet them," Carlos said through a yawn, "they sound nice."  
  
"They are," Julie agreed, kissing the top of Carlos' head. "And maybe someday you will."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah."

* * *

Carlos barged into Julie's room at nine in the morning when he heard her scream. "What? What is it? What happened?"  
  
"Nothing," Julie said, a frown melting off her face as she gave Carlos a smile. "Just . . . Luke scared me is all."  
  
Carlos folded his arms and glared where he thought Luke would be. "Don't scare my sister!"  
  
Julie chuckled. "He's not here. I chased him away. But thank you."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Well, Dad's still half asleep but he's trying to make eggs with his eyes closed so maybe we should get down there and help him."  
  
"There is no maybe about it, Carlos," Julie said, shoving her feet into her slippers. "Let's go."  
  
Once breakfast was over and done with, Julie told Ray that she would be heading down to the studio. Carlos eagerly asked if he could go too once he'd finished the little homework he had left, and before Ray could try to help Julie out of it, she smiled and nodded.  
  
The boys were more than excited to see Julie. None of them tried to touch her, but they all hovered dangerously close.  
  
"Alex wants another hug," Reggie explained.  
  
"I don't-- I don't know if--"  
  
"Well, you won't know unless you try," Luke said, "right?"  
  
"Yeah, but . . . I don't wanna be disappointed."  
  
"Have some faith, Julie, look at the poor guy. He's clearly in desperate need of some hugs."  
  


Julie grinned as Reggie lightly punched Alex's cheek and was rewarded with being swatted away. "Okay, for Alex."  
  
Alex frowned. "Hey, I'm not the one who spent all night wondering if I'd get another hug from you, I just want one now."  
  
"All night, huh?" Julie asked Luke as she folded her arms and shot him a teasing grin.  
  
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "No, of course not. Just . . . maybe a significant portion of it."  
  
"Uh huh, I see. Okay, then. Whatever you say."  
  
"Come on, Julie," Reggie said, holding his hand out.  
  
Julie's hand trembled every so slightly as she reached out too. She waited for the familiar feeling of her hand falling right through. When she actually made contact with Reggie, both of them were too excited to do anything other than grab each other's hands and start bouncing like little kids.  
  
"Hey, make room!" Alex cried, fighting Luke to get between them.  
  
In the end, Julie found herself squished in the middle of all three but wishing she'd be nowhere else. She still hadn't managed to wrap her head around the idea of being able to feel ghosts, but that certainly didn't do anything to curb her excitement.  
  
"We can hug Julie! We can hug Julie! We can hug Julie! We can--"  
  
And just like that, Luke tripped and went right through Julie, taking Alex and Reggie down with him. Julie smiled nervously. "Maybe it's a now-and-then kinda thing?"  
  
"I want it to be an always thing," Reggie complained. "You give the best hugs after Alex."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Sorry, Luke, but he's right."  
  
Julie laughed and held out her hand in front of Luke. "Try again?"  
  
Luke glanced at Julie's hand first, then at the smile on her face. He reached out for her hand and sighed when his own went right through hers.  
  
"It's okay," Julie said, shoving her hands in her hoodie's pockets as the boys picked themselves up. "Maybe we just need to give it a rest. We can try again later."  
  
"Try what later?" Carlos asked. He looked around. "Are you taking to the boyband? Are they here?"  
  
Luke's jaw dropped. "We are _not_ a boyband!"  
  
"Yeah," Julie said, "they're here."  
  
"You told him about us?" Reggie asked.  
  
Julie gave him a nod before turning back to Carlos. "Done with the homework?"  
  
"Yup. It was easy stuff. So what are you trying?"  
  
"Um . . . a hug."  
  
Carlos frowned. "But they're ghosts."  
  
"Yeah . . . it's complicated."  
  
"So," Carlos said, jumping onto the couch, "how do I meet 'em? Do you just wave your hands and poof?"  
  
"No, it only happens when we play together."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"We could play something for him," Reggie suggested, looking at Julie. "Just long enough to say hi?"  
  
"It could work," Alex said, already starting towards the drum kit.  
  
"Okay," Julie said, to both the boys and her brother. "Okay, we'll try it. Carlos, you stay there."  
  
Julie sat down behind her keyboard and took a deep breath.  
  
"After you," Reggie said, giving Julie and encouraging smile.  
  
Julie smiled back before placing her hands over the keys and tapping out a melody. Carlos watched, amazed, as the band appeared in front of him as soon as they joined Julie.  
  
"Is this a new song?" Carlos blurted, "I've never heard it before."  
  
"It is," Julie said, "and also not finished yet."  
  
"Cool."

Julie set her drum pad to repeat a few beats before standing up and holding her hand out for Carlos to join her in front of Alex.  
  
"Hey. I'm Alex."  
  
"You are so cool," Carlos said, "what's in the bag?"  
  
"The bag? Oh, uh, just some random stuff."  
  
"Julie always said one day I'd have to apologise for always using your laptop for music and I guess that day is today."  
  
"Reggie," Carlos said, looking to Julie for confirmation before continuing, "you can use my laptop, but don't let my dad catch you."  
  
Reggie grinned and nodded. "I'll take note of that."  
  
Julie left Carlos' hand to stand beside Luke. He stopped playing his guitar to wave at Carlos and when he dropped his hand, Julie took hold of it. Carlos did not miss the grins Reggie and Alex shared when they noticed.  
  
"Hi. I'm Luke."  
  
"Nice to finally meet you guys. I guess now the holograms story makes sense."  
  
"Yeah," Alex said, "it seemed like good idea and we kinda just ran with it."  
  
"Actual ghosts," Carlos whispered, "so cool."  
  
Distracted with Carlos' awe, Reggie and Alex stopped playing too.  
  
"Woah!" Carlos exclaimed suddenly, staring at Luke. "Where'd Alex and Reggie go?"  
  
"What?" Julie frowned. She noticed the silence in the garage. "But if the song's over, how come you can still see Luke?"  
  
" _You're_ the ghost expert here," Carlos said, gesturing to Julie. "You tell me."  
  
Luke lifted their entwined hands. "I'm beginning to think Reggie was right when he said you were a witch."  
  
"I am not a witch," Julie snapped. "No hugs for you when we get it right."  
  
"I'm sorry!"  
  
"No, you deserve it," Julie said, pulling her hand away.  
  
And suddenly, to Carlos, Julie was arguing with thin air. "Where'd he go?"  
  
"He's right h. . . Oh."  
  
"Oh?" four boys echoed, all staring at Julie with raised eyebrows.  
  
"What do you mean, oh?" Carlos asked.  
  
Tentatively, Julie reached for Luke's hand again. As soon as be noticed, he understood what she was hoping to achieve and met her halfway. As soon as their hands connected, Carlos' reaction told them all they needed to know.  
  
Julie could make the boys visible just by touching them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: has work  
> Also me: hey, let's get into a new fandom!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick goes overboard and a bickering session between Julie and Luke brings the last Molina into the mix

"There is something seriously wrong with Nick," Julie softly confided in her best friend as they walked to Julie's locker. "The last time we talked, I brought up the fact that I wanted to apologise for bluntly saying no when he asked me out and he was super understanding and promised he'd still stick around and be friends. He even joked that he just wanted to get in favour with the band. He also said that he wouldn't ask me out again."  
  
Flynn's eyes widened. "Nick asked you out again?"  
  
"Yeah, but like, in a weird way."  
  
"Weird how?"  
  
"Flowers. Like . . . a lot of them. As in several bouquets. When he came by the day after the Orpheum with the flowers, I took them because they were pretty and he was being nice but . . . this is a little out of hand. Wait, I have photo of how much it was to show you, let me just get my phone. It was covering my doorstep."  
  
"Oh my gosh," Flynn murmured, sounding as though she was seeing her celebrity crush.  
  
Julie continued digging in her bag for her phone. "I know. That's a lot of flowers for a friend --"  
  
"No, Jules, look."  
  
Julie looked up and her jaw dropped as she stared at her locker. The only response she could form to the dozens of roses sticking out from around the locker door was, "I don't even like roses!"  
  
Flynn looked around the inquisitive crowd, hoping to find someone who looked like they knew what was up. Instead, she found Carrie, also staring at Julie's locker like it had grown limbs.  
  
Julie sighed and got to work pulling the roses out. At least they were pretty little things in varying shades of pink. Flynn instantly helped.  
  
"Do you think it was Nick?"  
  
"Who else could it be? I'm telling you, Flynn, something is very wrong with him."  
  
"I'll say." Carrie scoffed as she leaned against the locker beside Julie's, watching the crowd disperse.  
  
"What do you want?" Flynn asked, pointing one of the roses at Carrie. The bright pink flower bounced violently.  
  
Carrie plucked the rose from Flynn and twirled it around. "Nick would never be so . . . bold. You know, I helped him pick the flowers he brought to your house the day after your show. That was very Nick-like. This," Carrie waved the rose at the pair of best friends, "is not Nick-like at all."  
  
"Okay," Flynn said slowly, "so what do you care? You're not dating anymore."  
  
"No, but I still care about him," Carrie snapped, clutching the stem tightly.  
  
"Carrie," Julie said, "thorns."  
  
"Ow," Carrie whispered to herself, letting go of the rose and pressing down on the tiny prick she'd managed to make. "Look, all I know is that Nick's not himself. He may not be my boyfriend but he is still someone I care about. I noticed he's been acting a bit odd ever since he got back from your house."  
  
Though Flynn was more than ready to defend her best friend, Julie turned a harsh glare on Carrie. "Are you implying that it's somehow _my_ fault? I haven't seen him since he stopped by and when he did, all that happened was that he asked me out and I said no."  
  
"Why?" Carrie blurted, suddenly curious.  
  
"What's it to you?" _Flynn_ blurted.  
  
Carrie ignored Flynn. "Well, he was fine when I last saw him before he visited you and when I saw him again after, he was not fine anymore. So yeah, maybe I am implying that you did something."  
  
"Look, Carrie, I get it. I can see why you'd think so but believe me, I have _nothing_ to do with the way Nick's acting."  
  
Carrie folded her arms. "I don't like trusting you, but I believe you. Maybe _you_ didn't do anything, but you are the only thing that happened between the two times I saw him. Stay away from Nick. You're clearly not good for him."  
  
"With pleasure," Julie spat, "though it's not like you're any better."  
  
"Wow. Low blow, Julie Bean," Carrie said, feigning an offended look. She threw the girls one last glare before leaving, dropping the bright pink rose at their feet.  
  
Julie nearly growled as Carrie left. She distracted herself with pulling the rest of the roses out of the edges and corners before she could finally open her locker without making a massive mess.  
  
A mess she didn't avoid because opening the locker only allowed at least a dozen roses to tumble to the ground, burying Carrie's bright pink one.

* * *

Julie didn't share many classes with Nick and for the ones she did share with him, he wasn't there. For a brief moment, she wondered if Carrie had convinced him to stay away from her at the expense of cutting class but she discarded it a second later. Even Carrie wouldn't jeopardise someone else's education.  
  
Carrie cornered her after school got out.  
  
"I didn't do anything, Carrie, so please--"  
  
"I know," Carrie cut in quickly. "Kayla said she saw Nick come in this morning but between the three of us, four if Flynn's as observant as they say, and aside from this morning, none of us have seen him at all today."  
  
"First of all, Flynn is very observant. Second, why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Because I know you care about Nick, too. I don't know why on earth you'd turn him down, but I do know that you care about him -- and I'm very worried about him. It's not like Nick to skip classes."  
  
Julie sighed and started walking, knowing Carrie was going to fall in step beside her. "Well, he seems to be utterly infatuated with me and flowers. That means he's probably going to try to give me some again."  
  
"So we keep an eye on you and your locker."  
  
"I'll keep an eye on me, thanks. I was going to suggest you call him and ask him if he needs any help with flowers for me. My guess is he'll say yes. Then you meet up with him and offer the advice he clearly wants and needs -- please, no more roses -- and try to figure out what's going on. When he comes to give me the flowers, _I'll_ try to figure out what's going on. Then we present our very biased opinions to the somewhat non-biased Kayla and Flynn and see what they come up with after having a chat themselves."  
  
Carrie nodded slowly. "I forgot what a good detective wannabe you are."  
  
Julie frowned. "Thanks? Look, I gotta get home. I have some things planned but . . . text me if it's an emergency. You still have my number, don't you?"  
  
"You mean you haven't changed your number yet?" When Julie gave her a blank stare, Carrie shrugged. "I deleted it but I'm sure I have it somewhere on that stupid post-it note."  
  
Julie rolled her eyes and plucked Carrie's phone from her open bag. "Give me that."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"You mean you haven't changed your passcode yet?" Julie teased as she put her number back in Carrie's phone.  
  
"Very funny," Carrie snapped, snatching her phone back. "That's rude."  
  
"You're too slow. Text me, _if it's an emergency only_."  
  
"Yeah, I got it, thanks. I'm not thick."  
  
Julie waved as she turned and left. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Care Bear."  
  
"Don't call me Care Bear!" Carrie yelled across the school's parking lot.  
  
"You started it in the hallway this morning with Julie Bean," Julie yelled back, but unlike Carrie and her simmering rage, Julie was grinning and laughing as she turned back around and headed off.  
  
"Ugh!"

* * *

"Julie, you okay?"  
  
Julie shook her head and wiped her frown off her face. "You know you're still not allowed in my room," she told Luke, but she was smiling, "right?"  
  
"I got bored in the studio. Reggie's talking to your dad again, and Alex decided to go off searching for Willie as soon as we got back from doing exactly that, so here I am. Buggin' you."  
  
Julie sighed and rolled over on her bed to stare up at the ceiling instead of her geometry homework.  
  
"But clearly, something else is already bugging you."  
  
"It's Nick," Julie admitted with a sigh.  
  
Luke caught himself thinking he was glad Julie couldn't see the scowl that crossed his face. He didn't have any rights to be upset. From what he heard between Julie and Flynn, Julie's had a crush on Nick for forever. But even that aside, Nick trumped Luke in one very important aspect: he was alive. Yeah, Julie could see Luke and yeah, Julie could feel Luke, but he was still very much dead and that wasn't going to change, no matter how much he wanted it to. He knew it was selfish, wishing that Julie chose him over anyone else, but he also knew that above everything else, Julie deserved to make her own choices. She deserved to choose for herself what she wanted -- or who she wanted. Though it killed him -- again -- to think that Julie wouldn't choose him, he knew already that it wouldn't change a damn thing about the way he felt about her and he knew for a fact that it wouldn't hurt their music or the band. They were both stronger than that.  
  
"There's something off about him," Julie continued, unaware of the conversation Luke was having with himself. "I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but he is acting so strange. So strange that Carrie's worried enough to come to me and Flynn so we can help each other figure this mess out." 

The conversation had taken a very different direction to the one Luke thought it was going in and the sharp turn had him sputtering for a second. The smartest response he could come up with was, "Do you want us to spy on him for you?"  
  
Julie lifted herself on her elbows and dropped her head back to look at Luke upside down. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah," he said quickly, "just a little distracted. So, um, what did he do that's got you all so concerned?"  
  
"Well, for starters, I found _that_ and way more shoved into my locker today," Julie said, dropping back to her bed and throwing her arm out in the general direction of the multitudes of flowers near her bag.  
  
Luke's first thought was, _I could do better._  
  
"Wait, how'd he get them _into_ your locker?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe he got the master key set from someone, if that's even a thing. I don't know, Luke, and it's really bugging me like you say."  
  
"You," Luke said loudly, startling Julie when his face appeared in front of hers upside down, "need a little distracting."  
  
"I'm distracted, all right," Julie mumbled to herself. She could feel the weight of Luke's hands pressing down on the mattress on either side of her head. She wondered if she could feel _him_ now.  
  
He gave her a lopsided grin. "How 'bout you come with me to the studio and we work on some songs together? And maybe after that, I'll poof into Carrie's house and steal her. . ." Luke leaned over Julie and closed her textbook to read the title, "her geometry homework for you to copy."  
  
"No to the stealing and copying," Julie said once she'd dragged herself back to reality, "maybe on the songwriting. I should get this homework done first, though."  
  
"I know, I know. You promised your dad, school first."  
  
"Exactly. Hey, you went through tenth grade, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah. But like twenty-seven years ago. I'm sure a lot has changed."  
  
"Math never changes." When Julie suddenly sat up, Luke took a moment to realise he was still in the real world and not some far off work with just Julie. "Come on, help me with this."  
  
"I should have stayed in the garage," Luke whined, but when Julie patted the bed, he sat, and when she pushed her books towards him, he leaned down to read the questions.

* * *

Nearly three hours later -- Luke got distracted easily, which would in turn distract Julie -- a loud buzzing from Julie's phone stopped their conversation about how many times they'd each seen Alex comfortingly pat his fanny pack when he thought no one was looking.  
  
"It's from Carrie," Julie said, leaning to the dresser where the phone was plugged into the charger.  
  
Luke, who had turned back to the math, and had a guitar pick in his mouth, mumbled out a garbled, "What's it say?"  
  
"Incoming."  
  
"Incoming _what_?" Luke said, looking up and frowning.  
  
"Julie!" Ray called from downstairs. "You have a visitor!"  
  
Luke got up and leaned through Julie's closed window. "Wow, those are big flowers."  
  
"Oh no," Julie groaned, rolling off her bed and trudging to the door. "I thought I'd at least get a day or two to prepare. What sensible school-going teenager goes out to buy flowers on a Monday?"  
  
Luke, now well aware that Julie wasn't interested in dating Nick as much as she was interested in what on earth was going on in his head, bounded after Julie. "I'll distract you if he gets boring," he promised.  
  
"Thanks," Julie said, rolling her eyes. "Just . . . stay quiet."  
  
Ray shot Julie a grin as he passed her. She tried to give him one back, but it was uncertain and a little hesitant. Lucky for Julie, Ray didn't think it was because she thought Nick was acting weird.  
  
"Hi," Julie chirped, opening the door wider. "Wow. Um, those are very big flowers, Nick. They're, uh, very pretty."  
  
"I know, but they're for you. But you're the prettiest of them all."  
  
"You know," Luke said as he watched Julie take the small bouquet of large lilies with a polite smile, "I liked this guy better when he was awkwardly flirty. This is just weird."  
  
"I know-- I mean, thank you!" Though she said the words to Nick, the gratitude was to Carrie. The lilies were quite big, but there was only about three of them and more importantly, they weren't more roses. She forced a laugh and a joke. "At this rate, I'm going to run out of vases."  
  
"Then perhaps I shall have to buy you a vase."  
  
"Does he always talk like this?" Luke asked, gesturing to the boy he stood next to.  
  
"No! No, no, no, please don't. There's no need. Just . . . maybe put a pause on the flowers?"  
  
Nick tilted his head and his eyebrows creased together as he gave Julie a confused look. "You don't like the flowers?"  
  
"I do! I really do, it's just . . . don't you think it's a little much? Hey, do you wanna come in and sit down?"  
  
Nick shook his head. "No, I just came by to give you these. Don't worry, though, maybe I'll come back next time with something else. You like chocolates?"  
  
Julie smiled. "Um, yeah. I like chocolates."  
  
"Great. I will see you, when I see you."  
  
Julie frowned at the wink she received as Nick turned to leave. "Nick, we have school tomorrow. I'll see you in class, right?"

"Right," Nick said, sounding as if he had forgotten all about school. "I'll see you in class . . . tomorrow."  
  
"Okay, maybe he just really likes you," Luke confessed, thinking that if he could waltz into a store and buy things for Julie, he most certainly would have showered her with gifts by now.  
  
"No," Julie said, closing the door, "no way that's what it is."  
  
"Why not?" Luke asked, following Julie to the kitchen where she hoped to find something to serve as a suitable vase.  
  
"Even if Nick did like me that much--" Julie paused and gestured to the four vases bursting with pink, yellow, red and white roses "-- he wouldn't be so . . . _pushy_ about it."  
  
"Or maybe he just can't fathom why you're saying no when you've had a crush on him forever and this is his way of telling you he wants to go out with you."  
  
Julie shook her head as she filled up a jug of water. "No, I already told him no and he already knows it's because I like someone else."  
  
The confession crushed Luke, even though he knew it was probably unfair to wish for Julie to want someone who's already dead. He didn't have much time to mope about it, though, because Julie whirled on him so fast, he nearly slipped off the counter.  
  
"How do _you_ know that I used to have a crush on him?"  
  
"I heard you talking about it to Flynn." Luke could lie to a lot of people. Everyone knew that if they needed to get out of trouble, Luke was the one to step up and spin stories. Luke could have probably lied his way into the music industry if he didn't have the talent or moral backbone to do it the right way. But Julie? Either she scared the shit out of him or he felt way too guilty lying to her but he absolutely could not do it. She asked a question and the first coherent sentence out of his mouth was the truth. He hadn't even tried to lie to her since the night they missed the school dance.  
  
If asked, Luke would probably lie and say he can totally lie to Julie, but deep in the back of his mind, he'd know that he would _never_ lie to Julie -- he wouldn't even think of lying anymore.  
  
"So, who is this mystery crush of yours?" Luke asked, hoping to lighten his own mood and give Julie some much-needed distraction from Nick and his odd behaviour.  
  
Julie accidentally squished one of the purple petals. "No one you need to concern yourself with."  
  
"No, but I do!" Luke argued, grinning now as he watched Julie rearrange the lilies in the jug. "I'm your bandmate -- I'm your _favourite_ bandmate! You don't want me to sic Carlos on this, do you?"  
  
"Don't you dare," Julie snapped, whirling around and giving Luke a deathly glare. She was pretty sure Carlos knew something and she knew that Carlos wouldn't keep his mouth closed for very long.  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Is it someone I know?"  
  
"I'm not answering any of your questions. I need to call Flynn."  
  
"It _is_ someone I know!"  
  
Julie scoffed. "As if you know anyone I know. Now, go to the garage, I'll come by when I'm done talking to Flynn."  
  
Without stopping to wonder if he would be able to make contact with Julie, just believing that he would, Luke snatched her phone out of her hand and circled his own around her wrist. "I'm busy teasing you. That means you can't go anywhere right now."  
  
"Give me back my phone, Luke," Julie said, using her free hand to reach for it. Given that Luke was A) taller than her, and B) sitting on the counter, she really couldn't reach without resorting to climbing up as well.  
  
So Julie did what any self-respecting teen whose phone was stolen would do and yanked Luke off the counter. 

Of course, Luke hadn't expected that and tumbled towards Julie. Part of him wished he'd go through Julie and both would avoid any potential injuries, but a bigger part of him was insanely glad to wrap his arm around her and steady himself, still holding on to her wrist with his other hand.  
  
Julie stared at Luke, a million thoughts rushing to her mind. Among them was the absurdity that the only thing keeping her from hitting the ground right then was the arm of a ghost.  
  
"Can I have my phone now?" she asked softly.  
  
Julie's voice brought Luke back to earth. He shot her a smirk. "Not until you tell me who you have a crush on."  
  
"Never."  
  
"Then you're not getting this back."  
  
Luke let go of Julie's wrist to catch her phone with his other hand and hold it high above his head.  
  
"Luke," Julie growled, hating the fact that he wore no sleeves that she could grab on to and yank down. Instead, she chose to pull his hair.  
  
"Julie! Ow!"  
  
"GIVE ME MY PHONE!"  
  
"Let go of my hair!"  
  
"PHONE FIRST!"  
  
"HAIR FIRST!" Luke screeched, catching one of Julie's wrists and holding fast in the hopes that she'd stop trying to bald him. Who knew if ghosts could regrow hair?  
  
"LUKE PATTERSON, YOU GIVE ME MY PHONE RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR ON THE BAND, I'LL CLIMB YOU LIKE A TREE AND PULL YOUR HAIR OUT LIKE AUTUMN LEAVES!"  
  
"TRY," Luke challenged, releasing her wrist to grab her waist just in case she did actually climb him. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that she'd succeed. The problem arose when he vaguely recalled that they didn't seem to have much control over how long it was between their very cherished contact moments and he didn't want it to end with Julie falling to the ground and hurting herself.  
  
But he had to admit, he was curious to see how long it would take Julie to succeed. Maybe one day they'd put up a pillow fort in the garage and test it out.  
  
With a furious yell, Julie pulled hard on the fist-full of hair she had and threw one leg over Luke's shoulder. She was going to get her phone back no matter what it took. There were texts in there between her and Flynn that talked about the very same ghost she was attacking and she did not want him to find those messages.  
  
"JULIE, OW!!"  
  
"DROP THE PHONE!"  
  
"STOP KICKING ME FIRST!"  
  
Julie didn't take any self defence classes, but she did watch a lot of TV and she was very willing to test out some superhero moves, no matter how stupid they sounded. She could not afford to let Luke see those messages.  
  
With another furious yells, Julie attempted to find footing with her other leg and was now somehow suspended on Luke.  
  
If she wasn't so furious, she might marvel at how strong Luke was to be able hold her thrashing weight.  
  
"Julie."  
  
Julie and Luke stopped screaming at each other and turned their heads -- Luke with some difficulty -- to face Ray. Julie felt Luke's arm around her waist tighten, most like to reduce the force of her pulling on his hair. Feeling pity, she relented and hooked her arm around his neck.  
  
"What is happening here?"  
  
"Uhh . . . band practice?" Luke tried.  
  
"Julie," Ray said again, this time with a warning tone to his voice.  
  
"What he said."  
  
And then it snapped and Julie slipped to the floor, groaning about her tailbone. Ray froze where he stood.  
  
Where the hell did Julie's bandmate go?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie gets jealous, Carrie and Julie start bonding over shared concern for Nick, who goes overboard again, and Ray officially meets the band.

"Julie, what is going on here? What just happened?"  
  
Julie groaned out some complaint about the floors as she picked herself up and looked at her father standing on the other side of the island counter. Honestly, with all the yelling Julie was doing, it was a miracle Ray hadn't come downstairs much earlier.  
  
"What was that? That was your bandmate, wasn't it? The singer?"  
  
"The singer?" Luke echoed. He turned to glare at Julie. "You didn't even tell him our names? How rude."  
  
"Shut up, Luke," Julie hissed, side-eyeing him furiously. This was all his fault.  
  
"Luke?" Ray repeated, frowning at Julie.  
  
"Oh. Uh, Luke is . . . He's. . ."  
  
"In the band," Luke prompted, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"In the band."  
  
"Yeah, I know but -- but he was right there. Wh-- where did he go?"  
  
Julie took a deep breath. She didn't try to come up with a lie. She knew she was caught and it's not as if she could lie much better when she knew she had a shot. "Dad, there's something I need to tell you."  
  
"Yeah, clearly!"  
  
"The boys in my band . . . they're not holograms."  
  
Ray nodded, having seen Julie attacking a very non-holographic person.  
  
"They're ghosts."  
  
"Phantoms."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Okay, but that doesn't . . . wait, you don't mean _actual_ phantoms, do you?"  
  
Julie nodded.  
  
"As in people who are dead?"  
  
Julie nodded again.  
  
"He's not taking this very well, is he?" Luke asked.  
  
Julie shook her head almost imperceptibly. "Dad? You okay?"  
  
"Wh-who else knows about this? Flynn? Does Flynn know?"  
  
Julie nodded. "And Carlos met them the day after the Orpheum. He sort of figured it out on his own and then he put me on the spot asking me about them."  
  
"Uh huh . . . and where do they stay?"  
  
"In the garage."  
  
"In the--! Why?"  
  
Ray's incredulous tone confused Julie. Was he mad or not? "Um, they . . . like it there?"  
  
"We do," Luke confirmed, nodding even though Ray couldn't see or hear him.  
  
"Why could I see him earlier? And the yelling, you two were yelling like you and Carlos when you use each other's things without asking. I only noticed a difference when I remembered Carlos is playing games in his room. He's still here, isn't he? Luke, that is. Why can't I see him now?"  
  
"We're not sure. It's a thing we can do." Julie reached for Luke's hand, frowning when she went through him. "Sometimes. It's unpredictable."  
  
"JULIE, HOW DARE YOU LET YOUR DAD MEET LUKE BEFORE ME?!"  
  
Julie turned her head to the direction of the front room to see a distraught Reggie running through everything.  
  
"What is it?" Ray asked.  
  
"Reggie's upset with me."  
  
"Give me your hand," Reggie demanded.  
  
"It's not working right--"  
  
"Gah!" Ray jumped as Reggie materialised in front of him, holding Julie's hand.  
  
Julie turned to Luke, who frowned and shrugged.  
  
"We," Reggie said to Julie and gesturing to Ray, "were listening to country together and you two interrupted it."  
  
"We were?" Ray asked, still perplexed by the whole thing.  
  
Hi. I'm Reggie."  
  
Ray waved, still confused. "Hi."  
  
Reggie extended his other hand to Ray, who moved on autopilot to shake it. He frowned when his hand went through Reggie's.  
  
"Huh," Reggie said, looking at the hand holding on to Julie's, "I guess Julie's special."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Ray said.  
  
Luke folded his arms and pouted. "I wanna hold Julie's hand."  
  
"She has two," Reggie said, confusing Ray.  
  
"Oh, Reggie and Luke are fighting," Julie told her father.   
  
"We are not," Reggie and Luke said, frowning at Julie.  
  
"Reggie!" Carlos shouted as he bounded down the stairs. "Hey!"  
  
Reggie waved. "Hey, Ghostie Toastie."  
  
"It's Ghost Toaster," Carlos corrected. "I see you finally met Dad."  
  
Reggie scowled. "Yeah, well Julie let him meet Luke first."  
  
"Uncool, Julie," Carlos told Julie, who sighed.  
  
"This is just . . . too weird," Ray said, gesturing to the three -- four -- of them.  
  
Luke chuckled, remembering the night they'd met Julie and she'd said the same thing about them. Julie let go of Reggie's hand and moved to walk towards her father.  
  
"Julie!" Reggie and Carlos yelled.  
  
"Okay, sorry!" Julie said, grabbing Reggie's hand so Reggie and Carlos could resume their conversation.  
  
"Look, dad, I know it's a lot to take in. Believe me, I didn't think it was real when I first met them either but we've been through a lot together and . . . and I might not even be making music again without them."  
  
"Aww, Julie," Luke said, reaching out for her. He was pleasantly surprised to make contact and squeezed her hand gently. "We wouldn't be making music without you either."  
  
"I'm going to go and take a nap," Ray announced, "and tomorrow, we can try this again with _all three_ ghosts."  
  
"That sounds like a very long nap, dad," Julie teased with a smile, "sweet dreams."  
  
"You know what I'm saying, _mija_."  
  
Luke tugged on Julie's arm as soon as Ray was out of sight.  
  
"Excuse me," Reggie said, leaning past Julie to look at Luke, "I need Julie right now."  
  
"Hey, Julie," Alex said, poofing into the kitchen.  
  
"Alex! Wanna come sit with me and doodle while I wait for Flynn to call me?"  
  
"Wh-- I, uh -- okay."  
  
"Sorry, boys," Julie said to Luke, Reggie and Carlos, "use a whiteboard or something. Alex, let's go."  
  
As Julie grabbed Alex's hand, he turned and waved to Carlos before following Julie up the steps, listening as she told him all about the encounter with Ray.

* * *

"Tell Flynn I said hi," Alex mumbled from the corner of Julie's bed, where he was surrounded by several of her markers and colour pencils, very focused on the once-blank page in Julie's sketchbook. Julie herself was standing in front of her wardrobe and planning the next day's outfit.  
  
"Alex says hi."  
  
"Hi, Alex!" Flynn called, knowing she was on speaker. She could hear Julie's markers on the paper. "So, Carrie called me. Said you gave her my number."  
  
"Yeah. She's super worried about Nick. I'm gonna call Kayla after I talk to you, then you and Kayla get to spend some quality time together checking to see if Carrie and I are seeing things or not. I'll send you Kayla's number if Carrie already didn't."  
  
"All right, I'm all ears."  
  
And so Julie began, recounting everything between opening the door and closing the door on Nick. Alex paused now and then during the tale to glance at Julie. She sounded just as worried as she made Carrie seem.  
  
"Strangest thing, though," Julie said, " and don't say this to Kayla, but it felt like Nick could _see_ Luke."  
  
That caught Alex's attention. He lowered his knees and dropped the orange pencil to focus on what Julie was saying.  
  
"You know what Luke is like, he's always trying to have a conversation with me when I'm having one with someone else and it really looked like Nick was trying hard to stay focused on me."  
  
"I would have screamed if I were talking to you and suddenly, Luke popped up and I could see him," Flynn admitted.  
  
"Exactly! If he really could see Luke, he should have been confused at the very least. Instead, he was trying to act like he couldn't. It's . . . strange."  
  
"Strange is an understatement. You weren't touching Luke by any chance?"  
  
"No, he's smarter than that. He went to stand behind Nick. Well, that's his reasoning. I think it's because he enjoys mocking Nick where I can see him."  
  
Flynn laughed. "Speaking of, how are the guys? Still talented? Still dead but here?"  
  
Alex scoffed. "Tell her we're very impatient for our next gig."  
  
Julie snorted. "Alex says they're very impatient for our next gig."  
  
"Ask and you shall receive, Alex. I've been thinking about booking you guys something, anyway. I did think it was too close to the Orpheum performance, but I also think you should ride out the Orpheum wave with smaller concerts."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"Alex agrees."  
  
"Good. I'll let you know all the details tomorrow. Now, send me Kayla's number and let us whine about you and Carrie for a moment. Love you."  
  
"Love you, too," Julie said with a smile before Alex reached over and ended the call for her.  
  
"Are you sure? Nick could see Luke?"  
  
"Positive. It's possible, right? If I can see you guys, it's possible for others to, right?"  
  
"From what I've heard, no. Willie said it was the first time he'd heard of a lifer being able to see ghosts without any kind of help. Even Caleb was surprised that you could see us. It's not common enough for it to be a coincidence that Nick could see Luke."  
  
"But that's besides the point. If he really can see ghosts, he has to know that I can, too. How else would we have formed the band, right? And if he really can see ghosts and knows that I can, why would he pretend like he couldn't?"  
  
"That," Alex said, picking up a marker and pointing it at Julie, "is a very good question."  
  
"Just say you don't know and get on with your doodles," Julie said, pretending to be annoyed.  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
"What do you think?" Julie asked, holding up two different shoes.  
  
Alex leaned forward and peered into her closet. "Those green ones at the front."  
  
"You know what, you're right."  
  
"Obviously."

* * *

Carrie nudged Julie as she walked into the school. "Kayla says we're overreacting and it's possible that Nick just does have a really big crush on you."  
  
It took Julie a moment to recover from Carrie approaching her with no malicious intent. "Well, Flynn thinks we're on to something. In Kayla's defence, I don't think she's ever been as invested in Nick's welfare as we are."  
  
Carrie frowned. "By that logic, Flynn should be on the same page as Kayla."  
  
"Yeah, but Flynn also said she's weirded out because you and I are agreeing on something with no argument and that in itself is strange."  
  
"I suppose she has a point. So, what happened?"  
  
"He came over. Gave me the flowers. Then left. No, wait, he said he'd bring me chocolates 'next time' and it really sounded like he forgot we have school today."  
  
"That's not like Nick."  
  
"So you keep saying. He's also talking really weird."  
  
"Weird how?"  
  
"I joked about running out of vases and he said _perhaps he shall have to buy me a vase_."  
  
Carrie's nose twisted. "He used the word perhaps? Out loud? Dork."  
  
"Carrie, _you_ use the word perhaps. Out loud. A lot."  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
Julie rolled her eyes and pushed the classroom door open. "Look, let's just give Flynn and Kayla more time to come to an agreement about whether or not we're overreacting. I'm sure Nick is--"  
  
"What. The hell."  
  
Julie glanced at Carrie's stunned expression and turned into the classroom to see her usual desk littered with chocolates and a sign that said "For Julie."  
  
"There you are!" Flynn yelled, stumbling into the classroom behind Julie and Carrie. "Oh, hi, Carrie. Jules, I've been looking all over for you. Look at this!"  
  
Julie looked around the empty classroom. She thought coming early would be a blessing and she would hopefully miss Nick. Of course, Nick seemed to have anticipated Julie arriving to school early.  
  
"I didn't suggest it," Carrie quickly said. "I have to go find Kayla. Goodbye."  
  
"Looks like you and Carrie are getting chummy," Flynn teased, nudging Julie's arm.  
  
"Yeah, I'd be concerned about that if I weren't already concerned about the possibility of Nick being able to see Luke -- or any of the guys."  
  
"The good news is that you have a gig on Friday that I can confirm once you get your dad's permission to be out late."  
  
Julie smiled. "A gig would be a nice distraction. Thanks, Flynn. You really are the best."  
  
"What else would I be?" Flynn asked, smiling and throwing her arm over Julie's shoulders. She sighed and looked at Julie's desk. "Can I have the peppermint crisp ones?"  
  
"Mhm. Just don't let Nick see you."  
  
"Come on," Flynn said, dragging Julie to her desk, "it's free candy.

* * *

"Okay," Ray said, sitting down on the couch in the studio, "Carlos said he met the band by you all playing something. So, let's hear something."  
  
Despite how very confused and disbelieving Ray still was about the whole thing, he was eager to hear the band's music. He really did enjoy them and he thought they were incredibly talented.  
  
"Actually, we wanted to try something else," Julie said, smiling a little nervously.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah. Yesterday, in the kitchen, you caught Luke and I fighting and you managed to see Reggie and Luke without us playing anything. That was a kind of an in-the-moment thing. We're still not sure how it works or how to control it, but we've been practicing, so . . . here goes."  
  
Ray inched forward on the couch, waiting to see what Julie had planned.  
  
Julie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned to one side and held her hands out, waiting. Ray waited too, watching closely. He jumped when Alex popped into existence, holding on to Julie's hands.  
  
"Dad, this is Alex."  
  
Alex pulled one hand away from Julie and waved. "Hi. Uh, I'm the drummer."  
  
"Right. Right. Hi."  
  
"Alex," Julie said, nodding to Alex's other side. While Alex nodded and turned, Julie faced her dad. "We know that the guys can be visible sometimes when they're holding my hands. So we wanted to test if we can make it work like--"  
  
"Like a chain," Ray finished with Julie, nodding. "I get it. Is -- is it working?"  
  
"Reg, come on," Alex said, holding his hand out.  
  
Reggie poofing in was much faster than Alex had been with Julie.  
  
"Hi, again," Reggie said, waving cheerfully.  
  
Luke shot Reggie and Alex a glare. He wanted to be the one holding Julie's hand and now he was at the end. The glare melted as soon as he grabbed Reggie's hand and found Ray's eyes on him. The transformation from angry puppy to shy child almost made Julie laugh.  
  
"Wow," Ray breathed out, looking at each band member in turn. "So, it's all true? You're really actually ghosts?"  
  
They all nodded.  
  
"Do you remember when you came in here to take photos back when you wanted to sell the house?" Julie asked. "And one of the photos had these little orb things in them?"  
  
Ray nodded at Julie before looking at the boys. "That was you? You were here when I was taking the photos."  
  
"Yeah," Reggie said, a little excitably, "you passed through me when you came in here."  
  
"Right . . . what's that actually like?" Confusion had long since given way to curiosity.  
  
"It's . . . a little strange. But you can tell a lot about a person. You can tell that they have a kind heart or a good soul. Or you can feel what it'd be like to know them like you know yourself. You get this special kind of insight to a person. Not like I'll automatically know what your favourite dish is or colour or whatever. But I can tell you're not a musical person but you do enjoy it because the people you love are musical."  
  
Luke nodded. "Its kind of like seeing into a person's soul. You can see all the little cracks and dents that time made, but you can also see all the healed scars and mended breaks that they fixed themselves. You can sense their passions, their potentials and you just know that they're gonna do great things."  
  
It did not escape Julie that she and her father were the very first people to pass through Luke and Reggie.  
  
"It's not just the good stuff either," Alex said, "you can tell when a person is hurting. All the doubt and exhaustion of maintaining an image, for example. You can feel resentment and anger and pain. The bad stuff takes a while to settle in, though. It's just a little harder to see, especially if it's buried under all the good."  
  
"It _is_ a two way thing," Julie said to take her father's eyes off Alex and distract herself from the fact that she was pretty sure Alex was talking about Carrie, "if you're aware that you're walking through a ghost, that is."  
  
Luke, who was not aware of the other side of that ability, leaned forward to see Julie. She was the only person he passed through that knew what was happening. Twice.  
  
"It's not as clear as they're describing it for us and it takes way longer than a few seconds to catch everything. But once everything settled in, you feel like you know them better. Kind of like a taste of what they were like alive. All the hopes and dreams. You feel kind of weird at first, like unexpected shivers. It's also strange because you just walked through someone. That's not normal, y'know? You don't realise it until much much later, maybe days -- weeks even -- when it's quiet and you're alone with your thoughts and you realise that it's just so . . . so easy to understand them. You realise that empathy comes so much more naturally to you and you wonder how you ever went about not having a clue what it must be like to be in their shoes."  
  
Ray was not oblivious to the awed stare Luke was giving Julie. He simply chose not to comment on it, wondering which of the two would be the first to come back to reality.  
  
"So, aside from the music, what else can you guys do?"  
  
Julie snapped first. She lifted her gaze to Luke automatically and gave him a smile.  
  
"Not as much as you'd think," Reggie said. "A lot of normal stuff. It took Alex the longest to figure out how to pick stuff up."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"You know it's true. Anyway, if we play without Julie, people can still hear us, they just can't see us. We also have this cool teleporting thing that gets us places fast. I'd show you, but I'd have to let go of Julie for that and well . . . that kind of defeats the purpose."  
  
Julie didn't tell her dad that they were wondering if one day, they would be able to teleport with Julie. It sounded dangerous enough without thinking about all the risks.  
  
"So, other people usually can't see ghosts, right?"  
  
"As far as we know," Alex said, "Julie's the only one. There might be others, but it's most likely too rare for us to run into someone else like Julie."  
  
"Uh huh . . . so, Julie, what makes you so special?"  
  
Julie shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't figured that part out yet."  
  
Ray leaned back on the couch and stared at the strange little band in front of him. Luke was still looking at Julie like she was a sunrise after years of darkness. Reggie noticed and when he looked back at Ray, he knew that Ray could tell. And when Ray suppressed an amused little grin, he knew that Ray thought it was kinda cute.  
  
They sat together on the floor and continued talking to Ray until Julie's hand fell through Alex's. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets a bit nostalgic for his old life. Julie manages to cheer him up -- and get a hug out of it!

Julie angrily opened the door and glared at Carrie. "I don't eat nutty chocolates."   
  
"I know," Carrie said, plucking a chocolate bar from the basket Julie was still holding. "But I knew I was coming here and I figured I might as well send some snacks ahead for myself with an oblivious Nick."   
  
Julie rolled her eyes and looked behind Carrie. "Hi, Kayla."  
  
Kayla smiled and waved. "Hey, Julie."  
  
"Flynn's down in the garage. I figured we could talk there and avoid Carlos or my dad listening to us -- or asking me difficult questions about why you're here."   
  
Carrie shrugged. "Whatever. I just wanted to get all of this over with so we can fix Nick."  
  
Julie shrugged as well and pulled the front door closed behind her. "Chocolate?" she asked, offering the basket to Kayla as they walked down to the garage.   
  
The truth was that they were going down to the garage because there was no way she was going to let three teenage boys overcrowd her room and she knew there was no getting them to not join her.   
  
Julie set the basket down on the coffee table. "Carrie told Nick to get me nutty chocolates so she could have snacks. Want one?"  
  
"Not cool," Flynn told Carrie. "Oo, I'll take this one, thanks."  
  
"So, Flynn and I talked about what you guys told us," Kayla said, "and while I still think it's possible that Nick just really likes you, Julie, I do agree that he's acting a bit odd."  
  
Flynn nodded. "So, today, we had a free for biology and we used it to stalk Nick."   
  
Carrie and Julie's jaws dropped. Carrie was the first to recover. "What did you find out?"   
  
The idea that Julie's little plan seemed to be helping them figure this out relaxed Carrie enough that she took a seat on the chair behind her.   
  
"We helped," Reggie said from behind Julie. When Kayla and Carrie weren't looking, Julie gave him a smile.   
  
"Well, Nick's only going to the classes he has with you two. The rest . . . poof. Gone. Just like that." Kayla shrugged. "I finished a test really early and decided to continue stalking Nick after. He walked out of the science lab with Carrie and vanished without a trace."  
  
"They're telling the truth," Luke called from the piano, where he lay across it, probably thinking about why there were the chairs on the ceiling. "We stalked him all day."  
  
" _All day_ ," Alex repeated, making an effort to show Julie just how exhausted it made him. "I didn't know Nick was skilled in the art of covert escape."   
  
Julie found herself repeating Alex.   
  
Flynn nodded. "So, at first, we did consider that you two are making a big deal about some slightly odd behaviour because you both care a lot about Nick, but the whole disappearing act is bothering us too."   
  
"Not to mention," Kayla said, "where is he getting the time -- and money -- to get all these gifts for Julie? Despite being nutty, I spy some really expensive labels in that basket and flowers, especially that many, aren't cheap."   
  
"Well, the times Nick asked for my advice," Carrie said, "he said he would be going after school to buy all of it."   
  
"We had a ton of homework yesterday, though," Flynn said, "and not to mention, music work, which takes up a lot of time. But _Nick_ managed to find time to get Julie flowers and plan the whole chocolates thing on her desk before we got to school."  
  
"If I wasn't so concerned with what's happening, I'd consider that sweet," Julie admitted.  
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Don't agree with me so easily," Julie said, throwing Carrie a false glare, "it feels weird."  
  
Carrie rolled her eyes. "Whatever."   
  
"Maybe one of you should ask Nick directly," Kayla suggested.   
  
"I'll do it," Julie said, glancing at Carrie. "Provided he doesn't give me nutty chocolates again."  
  
"I make no promises," Carrie said, folding her arms and turning her nose up.  
  
Alex laughed. He rolled his eyes when Reggie and Luke gave him an odd stare. "What? She's funny."   
  
Julie rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to him . . . soon. In other news, I heard Dirty Candy is performing this Friday."  
  
Carrie scoffed. "Yeah, and apparently, so is _Julie and the Phantoms_."   
  
Carrie's mocking tone was ignored by Julie, and so Flynn held back. She'd step up if Julie needed her.   
  
"Yeah," Julie said. "I guess we'll see you there."   
  
Julie's response stunned Carrie for a second, so much so that all she could do was nod and mumble out a, "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
The garage was silent. Well, not for Julie, who could hear the boys snickering at Carrie's expression -- especially Alex, who was not masking his excitement at seeing Dirty Candy perform again.  
  
Carrie cleared her throat and stood up. "Well, if that's all, I have to leave. We do still have some homework and I'd like to get it done in time for the Fresh Prince reruns."   
  
Kayla stood up as well. "Me too. This was . . . this was nice."   
  
Julie and Flynn smiled at Kayla.   
  
"I suppose it wasn't as awful as I expected," Carrie said. She walked all the way to the doors before turning back. "Don't you dare tell anyone I'm still watching reruns of the Fresh Prince."   
  
Julie mimed zipping her lips shut. "Don't give me a reason to want to."   
  
As soon as Carrie and Kayla were long gone, the boys ambushed Julie.

"We wanna watch it too!" Reggie cried, giving Flynn a fright when he grabbed Julie's shoulders and materialised.  
  
"This is . . . new," Flynn said.  
  
"Oh, hey, Flynn."   
  
"Hey. So, did Julie tell you guys about Nick?"  
  
Reggie settled one side of Julie, leaving the other open for Alex. Luke pouted before plopping down behind Julie and pulling her into his lap. Flynn bit down on her lips to keep from grinning.   
  
"She did," Alex confirmed, "and we think it's strange too."   
  
"Are we going to do anything about it?"  
  
" _We_ aren't doing anything," Luke said, resting his chin on Julie's shoulder after a long moment of moving her hair to the other side. "Whatever's gotten into Nick, it's completely changed his entire personality. I saw him talking to Julie. It was . . . unsettling. Whatever it is, he's not himself and who knows what he'll do if he figures out you suspect something. No, you and Julie go to school like normal. We'll dig around."  
  
Flynn folded her arms. "I'm a very capable person--"  
  
"And we're not denying that," Alex said gently, "we're just worried about you."   
  
Reggie squeezed Julie's hand, but he didn't say anything about being afraid or worried. Instead, he grinned. "Besides, you have to keep Carrie from finding out about us and you have to protect Julie from her."

"I can protect myself just fine, Reg," Julie said, but she smiled at him.   
  
"I am never gonna get used to seeing you guys so normal," Flynn confessed, "not when I know for a fact that you're ghosts."  
  
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I don't think it's quite set in for Luke yet," he said softly.   
  
All except Julie turned to Luke, who was staring at Julie's hair and marvelling at the fact that he could feel her curls tickling his nose.   
  
"Is he doing the hair thing again?" Julie whispered.  
  
She received three whispered 'yes's to confirm it.   
  
Flynn shook her head. "Anyway, since Julie's dad is all good with it, who's ready for a gig on Friday?"  
  
"Oh, me!" Luke said, immediately distracted by a chance to perform. "Hey, Alex, maybe if we perform again, word will get around and Willie will come find you instead?"  
  
Alex shrugged. "I hope so."  
  
"Who's Willie?"   
  
"Alex's boyfriend," Julie, Luke and Reggie said, all looking at Alex with the same teasing grin.   
  
"Shut up," Alex mumbled.   
  
"Cute," Flynn said, "and I hope Willie is too."   
  
"Oh, absolutely," Alex said immediately.   
  
"Aww, _y_ _ou're_ cute," Flynn said, hand over her heart. "Now, Julie and I have some homework to do. Why don't you three sit and talk about what you wanna play on Friday and I'll deliver Julie back when we're done? Come on, Jules."   
  
Flynn stood up and grabbed Julie's hands. Luke, the only one still viable to Flynn, was reluctant to let go of Julie and Flynn had to strain to pull Julie up.   
  
"Whipped," Reggie whispered, just loud enough for Alex to hear too.   
  
Luke lightly slapped Reggie. "Shut up."   
  
Despite not hearing anything, Julie was pretty sure she knew what was going on. "I'll see you guys later," she promised.

* * *

Over the next three days, the band modified, perfected and practiced yet another Sunset Curve song until they were certain they were at their best. In between, they made Julie find episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air for them to watch together.   
  
Also over the next three days, more and more candy was delivered to Julie's house to the point that Ray started worrying about it.   
  
Julie came home Friday afternoon to see Ray at the kitchen island, wearing the same face he usually made whenever a recipe told him to put less spices than what Tia Victoria told him to.   
  
"So, this Nick from school . . . what's that all about?"  
  
For a moment, Julie wondered how many lies she would have tried to tell had this conversation happened prior to Ray meeting the band. "We're all worried about him, too, dad. He's not acting like himself. We're just afraid of pointing it out to him so we're going along with everything. Besides, Carlos appreciates the chocolate coated wavers, Flynn will come pick up the peppermint crisps, the hazelnuts are for Carrie and Kayla likes the peanut butter Reese cups."  
  
"Carrie? You two are . . . hanging out again?"  
  
Julie shrugged. "She's worried about Nick. I'm worried about Nick. We have a common interest."  
  
Ray nodded. "I think it's great. This is an opportunity to see if your friendship with Carrie could still work. And hey, if not, you can just part ways later, right?"  
  
"Right," Julie said, smiling. Reggie was a hundred percent correct. She really did have the best dad ever.   
  
"Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
"Not at the moment. The guys are watching over Nick now and then. Maybe they'll find something. They specifically told Flynn and I to focus on doing our homework, so I guess you'll be glad to know both you and them have my education as a top priority."   
  
"I am glad to know that. And since everyone seems to have a hand in your gifts, do you mind if I take the chocolate eggs?"   
  
"Help yourself, absolutely. I just put dibs on the bag of Hershey's kisses. Everything else is free game."  
  
Ray grinned. "Are you guys ready for tonight?"   
  
"We think so. We've got something sweet for tonight. It was an unfinished Sunset Curve song, but we've made it our own now."  
  
"Great! We'll leave once I pick Carlos up from practice, sound good?"  
  
"Perfect. I'll go tell the guys."

* * *

As always, Dirty Candy was exceptional and earned several rounds of cheering. Julie cheered too, mostly for Alex but a little bit for the dance group.   
  
It had gotten incredibly easier to appreciate Carrie's music when Carrie herself was easier to be around. Still, watching Alex dance his heart out among oblivious dancers was something to enjoy. Julie only wished Flynn could see him too.   
  
"Are you ready?" Luke asked, leaning down to Julie's ear so she'd hear him over the crowd.   
  
She nodded. "Yeah. We practiced enough."   
  
The song they performed was as Julie told Ray, something on the sweeter side. It was a change from their usual music, but they were trying out other sounds.   
  
And anyway, the song made more room for Reggie's voice and Julie swore several audience members swooned over him.   
  
The lyrics themselves were easy to connect with. Gentle words about love. Love that saves, love that burns bright. Love that heals. For them, personally, it was a thank you note to Julie for loving them enough to break whatever curse Caleb put on them. For loving them enough to bring them back from the brink of a second death. And Julie knew it. And she felt more touched about it than all the compliments she had ever received from her family or friends.  
  
Beyond the thank you note part of it, Luke's heart eyes for Julie the whole time did nothing to help his case about having chemistry with _everyone_ that he sang with. In his defence, Julie wasn't exactly making much of an effort to look away from him.   
  
They concluded as they always did; to loud cheering and shouts of stunned amazement as the band vanished into thin air.   
  
"Thank you, everyone. We're Julie and the Phantoms, tell your friends!"  
  
Julie skipped off the stage and into the arms of a squealing Flynn.  
  
"Amazing! As always."

"Thanks, Flynn."   
  
"All right, I'm gonna go mingle and make some important friends. Coming with me?"  
  
"I've had enough moving around for tonight, thanks. I think I'm gonna find my dad and steal his snacks."

Flynn nodded. "All right, let me know when you're leaving. Your dad said I could catch a ride home with you."   
  
Julie nodded too. "Go, be sociable. Make good friends, okay?"   
  
"Gotcha."  
  
Julie turned around and walked through Luke. She stopped as soon as she was on the other side of him and shuddered. "We really need to figure out what triggers this whole thing and you really need to start announcing your presence."   
  
"Sorry," Luke said with a laugh.   
  
Julie weaved through the crowd, relieved when she exited at the back to fresh air. She didn't think anyone would notice her talking to nothing, given that the crowd was all to concerned with the next performance on stage. "Where are Alex and Reggie?"  
  
"Reggie heard you talking about Ray and is gone ahead to find him and Carlos for you. Alex is sitting in a tree or something so he can see the whole place and is checking to see if Willie shows up."   
  
Julie sighed as she slowly walked along the edge of the stone pathway. "I really hope you guys can find him. I wanna meet him -- if I can, you know."   
  
"I hope so too. He's a nice guy and Alex _really_ likes him. A lot."  
  
Julie glanced at Luke, who was looking around with a sort of nostalgic look on his face. "Hey, you okay?"  
  
"Yeah." Luke nodded, a little too quickly. He knew Julie had noticed. "Before I ran away from home, we'd book a few gigs here now and then. It was close enough to home that my parents didn't mind me being out late here. Once, they came for a show. My mom used to say that she liked us playing here because it was loud enough that she could faintly hear us from home."  
  
Julie looked up from the stones to Luke. "What changed?"  
  
"I started staying out later, playing further away. She -- they thought the band was a hobby and it was time to put it down, y'know? So I started sneaking out for gigs, coming home near sunrise. They obviously didn't like that and I didn't stop. It put some strain on us. My mom and I are both stubborn as can be. Then it got to a point where we couldn't see eye to eye anymore and I just -- I just left."  
  
"Oh, Luke. C'mere."   
  
Luke melted into Julie's hug without a moment's hesitation. Holding Julie was the best part of his afterlife. Not even the music topped the feel of Julie. He buried his face in her shoulder and sighed contentedly. He was Julie's little phantom and honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way.   
  
Julie tightened her arms around Luke. She knew he needed the hug, but she also wanted to be sure he wasn't going away anytime soon.   
  
Luke pulled back when Reggie arrived to tell them he'd found Ray and Carlos, but he didn't let go of Julie's hand. Julie didn't mind. In fact, she was glad Luke didn't let go because she didn't want to either.  
  
"I'll go get Alex," Reggie said.  
  
"Okay," Julie said, nodding, "I'll tell Flynn to meet us at the car."  
  
Still keeping a tight hold on Luke's hand, Julie fished her phone from her pocket and sent Flynn a message. Luke watched as she locked her phone and shoved it back in her pocket. "I wish we had phones like that back in '95."   
  
Julie laughed. "I'm sure you do. Come on, let's go find my dad."   
  
And leaning her head against Luke's shoulder, holding his hand in both of hers, Julie left with Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through oop 0.0


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick is set free, Carrie lies for Julie, and Willie returns

"Guys! We have a problem."  
  
The weekend had passed uneventfully, save for Nick stopping by on Saturday afternoon with another candy basket. Truthfully, Julie appreciated it more than the flowers. At least the candy went somewhere. When she went to school in the morning, her backpack contained all the nutty chocolate for Carrie and a nice variety for Kayla, who didn't seem to mind anything that didn't have raisins. Flynn had already stopped by and snatched up her choice. Julie took what she wanted and left the rest to Ray and Carlos.  
  
But the problem Julie was panicking about had nothing to do with the candy but a lot to do with Nick.  
  
"Are you okay?" all three phantoms asked, worry etched into each of their faces as Julie began to the living room.  
  
"No! I talked to Nick today, like I said I would, and the conversation just kept going in crazy and stupid directions. Like, he kept saying how he just wanted to gain my favour or something. I don't know. Anyway, you know I'm not fond of confrontation. Don't give me that look, Alex, I _can_ do it, I'd just rather not. Anyway, I kept trying to explain that he needed to calm down and that all of these gifts are starting to get ridiculous but he wouldn't listen. And then I told a little lie and now I have to run with the lie in the hopes that Nick actually backs down. You know, Carrie should have prepared me for how argumentative Nick can get."  
  
"What lie?" Reggie eventually asked when Julie stopped rambling. "We'll help you keep it up."  
  
Alex and Luke quickly nodded.  
  
Julie stopped pacing and gave them a smile. "You guys are the sweetest. But I just need Luke's help."  
  
Luke's eyebrows lifted as he hopped off the couch and walked up to Julie. "Why? What happened?"  
  
Reggie's eyes widened the tiniest bit. He knew what was happening here. He'd read enough fanfiction recommendations from Flynn for him to know exactly where things were headed. Alex shot him a slightly concerned glance when it seemed like he was about to start visibly vibrating with excitement. Alex was glad to be sitting on a different couch, far from Reggie in the armchair, just in case he got hit with a flailing limb if it got to that.  
  
"Jules. What do you need?"  
  
"It's uh . . . well, I didn't have much time to think it through and you were the first person that came to mind, and--"  
  
"Julie?" Nick called from the open doorway.  
  
With a soft squeak of panic, Julie grabbed Luke's hand and hugged his arm with the other.  
  
"Jules, you know what happens when--"

"Sh."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Julie?" Nick called again, stepping into the house. He stopped short when he noticed Julie and Luke. His gaze lingered on their entwined hands for a second before looking up again. For a moment, Luke thought he saw Nick's gaze flick to Alex and Reggie before settling on Luke and Julie. "Oh. Hello."  
  
"Nick, this is Luke."  
  
"Right," Nick said, walking up to them, "the boyfriend."  
  
"The _boyfriend_?!" Alex repeated, leaning forward. It took a lot of strength on Julie and Luke's part to pretend like they hadn't heard him. Luke, who was staring at Nick, thought it looked like Nick was doing a very poor job of pretending like he couldn't see Alex and Reggie either.  
  
"I really thought you were kidding to throw me off, Molina."  
  
Julie laughed nervously. "Nope. I would never do something like that."  
  
"I thought the band wasn't close enough to perform live. How is this working out?"  
  
"I'm visiting," Luke said before Julie tried to lie again. Julie may be a terrible liar, but he certainly wasn't. "We're still celebrating our Orpheum performance and we figured it'd be nice to actually celebrate with Julie in person."  
  
Julie smiled and let out a nervous chuckle when Nick looked at her. She gripped Luke's hand tighter.  
  
"How sweet. I suppose this is my cue to back down, huh?"  
  
Luke smiled thinly. "I suppose so."  
  
"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you," Nick said, holding his hand out in front of Luke.  
  
Before Reggie, Alex or Julie could stop him, Luke leaned forward to shake Nick's hand. Luke tended to forget he was a ghost around Julie, a tendency that seemed to increase whenever Julie held on to him.  
  
Julie wasn't the only one whose jaw dropped when Nick's hand didn't go through Luke's. Even Luke seemed to realise what was going on.  
  
There was a small and quick deep violet flash at Luke's wrist and Nick coughed. He promptly turned a seething glare on Julie. "You won't be around forever."  
  
"Nick? Nick, what's going on?"  
  
Luke watched a familiar stamp lift off his wrist the same way it had done the night Julie hugged them for the first time.  
  
"I knew there was something familiar about his eyes," Reggie sneered, quickly standing and blocking Julie from Nick's vision. Alex stood behind her. It was reminiscent of a moment where they'd all squished Julie in a hug between them.  
  
"Nick?"  
  
"That's not Nick, Jules."  
  
Julie watched from between Luke and Reggie as something left Nick's body in a trail of purple smoke. Nick collapsed as the cloud blew through Julie before vanishing, almost knocking her off her feet. She coughed and waved her hands in front of her face as Alex quickly steadied her.  
  
"That was Caleb."

* * *

Carrie flew into the Molina house without pausing to knock on the door. Close behind her was Flynn.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Julie looked up from Nick. "Nick's dead weight is ridiculously heavy," she complained, still upset about having to move Nick to the couch alone. At one point, she asked Luke why he couldn't first restrain Nick -- _Caleb_ \-- to the couch before getting rid of him. Luke thought she was funny.  
  
"Julie. What happened?"  
  
"He came over and he looked a bit pale so I asked him if he wanted some water and when I went to get it, he passed out."  
  
"You're getting good at this lying business," Reggie said, giving Julie a thumbs up.  
  
By the quick and fleeting glare Julie shot a seemingly random spot, Flynn figured the guys were around.  
  
"What happened at school?" Flynn asked. "I saw you talking to Nick and then he took off and you took off in the opposite direction and the next thing I know, I'm running into Little Miss Pinkie Pie outside your house."  
  
"I lied to him," Julie said honestly, "the conversation got a bit . . . heated and I didn't want it to spiral out of control so I told him a little lie."  
  
"Julie Molina, spinning a lie? Now that is something I'd like to see in action."  
  
"Shut up," Flynn muttered, shoving Carrie lightly. "Jules, everyone knows you can't lie. What did you really say?"  
  
Julie folded her arms. "I told him I'm dating someone else."  
  
Carrie scoffed. "Yeah, like anyone would believe that. It's a lame excuse. No one even uses it anymore."  
  
"Well, Nick did."  
  
Carrie seemed to have dropped it, but Flynn wanted to know more. Thankfully, she chose not to say anything in front of Carrie.  
  
"Anyway, I texted you both because Flynn is my worrying partner and Carrie, you know Nick best so you'd know if he has any fainting issues or--"

"Or if he's just so heartbroken that Julie's in love with someone else he fainted," Flynn teased.  
  
"I am not," Julie snapped, cheeks flaring fast. She was grateful that Carrie was focused on Nick and thinking about whether she should try waking him. Julie didn't get so lucky with the rest of the band -- especially Reggie and his very knowing grin.  
  
"He should be fine," Carrie said. She turned to Julie. "So, do we get to meet this someone else you're dating?"  
  
Julie frowned. "I'm not dating anyone. I just told you I lied to Nick."  
  
Carrie raised her eyebrows. "Wow, Julie Bean, I didn't know you were _this_ good at lying. You have to be lying to either Nick or me, and since Nick clearly believed you and I want to believe this, you must be good at it, hmm?"  
  
Julie gasped. She had managed to hide the nickname from the boys for as long as she had known them. She could already see the grins spreading across their faces as they began to get impatient for Carrie to leave so they could begin their teasing.  
  
"Shut up, Care Bear."  
  
Alex's eyebrows lifted. "Care Bear?"  
  
Carrie glared at Julie, who smiled.  
  
"You started it. Also, I didn't see you on Friday night. I wanted to tell you, Dirty Candy was really good."  
  
The compliment startled Carrie. "You guys were good too. I liked the song."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Aww, look at you two," Flynn said, clasping her hands together under her chin. "How you've matured."  
  
Carrie scoffed and rolled her eyes. Julie gave Flynn a fond smile.  
  
"Ugh, what happened?"  
  
"Nick!" they all cried, crowding around the couch. The boys stayed behind the couch, cautiously watching. Who knew what Caleb could have done?  
  
Nick was more surprised to see Carrie and Julie so close to each other and not bickering about something than he was about being in Julie's house.  
  
"You passed out," Julie explained as she helped Nick to sit up. "You came over here after school."  
  
"Right . . . why did I do that?"  
  
Carrie sat next to Nick and rubbed his back gently. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Like I fell off a stage. Ow."  
  
"I'll get you some water," Julie said, standing. She locked eyes with Luke and nodded to the kitchen. All three stood up to follow.  
  
Julie stopped as a coughing bout overtook her. She clutched the back of the couch to steady herself. The boys were glad that Flynn beat them to Julie or they would have surely had to explain everything to Carrie and Nick when one of them grabbed Julie to steady her.  
  
"Are you sure you don't need me to get _you_ a glass of water?"  
  
"Was it the dust cloud of doom?" Reggie asked, referring to Caleb's escape route.  
  
Julie's attempt at laughter eased the coughing. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Probably just a little dust cloud of doom," she told Flynn, shooting Reggie an amused grin, "I really need to do some cleaning in here. I'm fine, I promise."  
  
With a quick nod to the boys, Julie continued to the kitchen.  
  
"Is it possible that he doesn't remember anything?" Julie whispered.  
  
"Are you okay?" Luke asked. "It's not really Caleb, is it?"  
  
Julie shook her head. "I'm fine. I promise to yell if something's wrong. Now, about Nick?"  
  
The question was met with shrugs.  
  
"Our only source of information on Caleb is MIA," Alex reminded them.  
  
"Right. Still no sign of Willie?"  
  
<Alex shook his head. "But, Julie, I gotta say, Nick -- _Caleb_ \-- looked pretty terrified of you."  
  
"Of me?"  
  
"He's right," Reggie said, "just before he poofed out of Nick. It was like he'd seen a demon or something."  
  
"Thanks, Reg," Julie said sarcastically, closing the cabinet she had pulled a glass from.  
  
"You know what I mean."

Luke wanted nothing more than to give Julie any kind of comforting gesture, but he didn't want to do anything that would reveal them to Carrie or Nick. So he hopped onto the island counter and stayed there. "They _are_ right, Julie Bean. Caleb's scared of you, that much is clear. Why else would he threaten you like that? And his escape? Very dramatic. Very threatening."  
  
"Don't call me Julie Bean," was all Julie said as she picked up the glass she'd filled and brought it over to Nick.  
  
"Thank you."

"How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine, I just . . . did I say what I came here for?"  
  
Carrie narrowed her eyes at the glance Julie and Flynn shared. "You said you wanted to congratulate Julie on the dance performance practice today, remember? You came to watch Dirty Candy's rehearsal and Julie happened to be there too."  
  
"Right," Nick said, even though he didn't remember a thing about it.  
  
Julie subtly studied Carrie. Yes, Nick had been there during her practice performance, but Dirty Candy was most definitely _not_ in the middle of a rehearsal. Was Carrie really lying to Nick so Julie didn't have to? A quick glance at Flynn told Julie that her best friend had the same thoughts bouncing around her head.  
  
"I'll take Nick home," Carrie said, standing up and offering Nick her hand. "Thanks for calling me, Julie B--"  
  
"Don't you dare."  
  
And to the great surprise of everyone present, Carrie genuinely smiled at Julie before leading Nick out of the house.  
  
"Well, now that that's done and dusted, yes that was a pun, -- and Caleb's still crawling back to the Hollywood Ghost Club -- I'm gonna go look around and see if I can spot Willie somewhere."  
  
Julie nodded. "Okay, but be safe, Alex, we don't know for sure."  
  
"I will. I'll see you guys --"  
  
"I'll help," Reggie said, "two pairs of eyes is better than one, right?"  
  
Alex nodded. "Thanks, man. Luke, do--"  
  
"No, no, no, Luke has to stay and look out for Julie, right?"  
  
Cheeks starting to flare up, Julie turned away from Luke and picked up the glass. "I'm gonna put this away."  
  
"Julie," Flynn said with a slight teasing tone as she followed Julie to the kitchen. "What are they talking about?"  
  
"Okay, seriously though," Reggie continued, lowering his voice and wiping off his teasing grin, "I think one of us should be with Julie at all times. Caleb threatened her. We don't know what he's capable of and we can't -- we can't lose Julie."  
  
The three of them turned to see Julie with her mouth wide open, staring at Flynn with a look of complete and utter horror. She quickly recovered and pretended to slap Flynn.

"She's family."

* * *

Telling Flynn the whole story proved difficult when Flynn kept interrupting to ask questions -- some of which completely unrelated. Despite it, Julie and Luke managed to tell her everything by the time Alex and Reggie returned an hour later.  
  
When Carlos and Ray arrived home, Flynn and Luke swooped to the rescue to explain that Nick came over, had a talk with Julie, then decided to stop showering her with gifts. Carlos wasn't the only one upset about the lack of incoming candy, a fact that Julie found adorably amusing.  
  
Flynn stayed for dinner. Julie and Carlos curled up on the couch after to watch something. Luke sat with them, on the single chair Reggie claimed as his own, watching Julie laugh more than the show on the TV. Alex and Reggie sat in the garage, plotting how they were gonna get Julie and Luke to talk about the elephant in the room -- and how on earth they were going to rope Flynn into their schemes. Three episodes in, Carlos left to get in some game time with friends, which left Julie's right side cold.  
  
She gave Luke a lazy smile and lifted the blanket. "I'm cold."  
  
Luke would have listened to her even if she hadn't spoken. For the longest time, Sunset Curve was his world. They were the only people who knew him well enough to know what he was thinking just by looking at him long enough, and it worked the other way too. He could look at any one of them long enough and know what was running through their minds.  
  
But Julie . . . Julie was something else. Something special. Julie could tell him whole stories without ever moving her lips. Julie talked with her body. The way she held her hands close to her chest said she was afraid. The way she threaded the fingers of one hand with his and clutched his arm tight with her other hand said she was terrified. Her lazy smiles said she was truly happy. Her fond gazes said she loved. Her slow and even breathing as she curled up against him and closed her eyes said she felt safe.  
  
Luke marvelled at Julie as she threw a portion of the blanket over him. What on God's green earth had he done in life to deserve Julie in death? But nevermind that, he wasn't going to question it. He was just going to enjoy it. So smiling to himself, he wrapped one arm around Julie and held her close, refusing to think about a time when he wouldn't be able to anymore.

* * *

"Another gig," Julie said less than a month after they'd somehow kicked Caleb out of Nick's body. "We should do another gig somewhere close by. We should actually do them more often. Maybe word will reach Willie."  
  
"I appreciate it, Jules," Alex said, "I really do, trust me. But you have a lot of homework on your plate. That's the whole reason we're not doing any gigs around now."  
  
"I can do both."  
  
"Maybe. But you shouldn't. You promised your dad school comes first and we don't want you disappointing him. He really loves you and he supports the band. Parents like that aren't easy to come by."  
  
Julie sighed, thinking about her boys' relationships with their parents. "You're right. I know. It's just . . . I have you guys here with me all the time. I know you're safe and you know I'm safe. Willie . . . Willie probably thinks you've crossed over and you don't have any idea where he is."  
  
"I like to think he's safe. Caleb is an asshole, a big one. I'm fully certain that if something bad ever happened to Willie, Caleb wouldn't waste a second in finding me to gloat about it and throw it in my face. Silence from Caleb means Willie is still hidden."  
  
Julie sighed and rolled off the couch to reach for her phone on the coffee table. "I like that. I just can't wait to meet Willie. You talk about him like he's an angel. A dorky, slightly crazy, skater angel, but an angel nonetheless."  
  
Alex scoffed. "You should hear the way Luke talks about you," he muttered.  
  
Julie looked up from her phone to see Alex rolling his eyes at the snare drum. "What's he saying?"  
  
"A lot," Alex confessed, "I've been trying to find his mute button for _months_ , ever since we first performed together. You know we love you, Jules, right? But honestly, if I don't find Luke's mute button soon, I'm gonna start getting sick of _you_."  
  
"Aw, I love you too, Alex." It was easier to distract herself with Alex's predicament than wonder what exactly Luke was saying. "Also, I think his mute button is a frying pan to the face."  
  
Alex stared at Julie for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. Julie smiled as she listened to him laughing. She always loved listening to her boys loving exisiting. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be able to speak only to each other and her, starved of that connection Luke especially thrived for. So when they laughed and smiled and joked around, Julie always wore the same fond smile. They'd died twenty five years ago and yet, Julie had never seen a more alive trio.  
  
Alex's laughter cut off sharply. Julie sat up, instantly worried. She was a bit relieved when she saw him still sitting behind his drums. She took a moment to calm her racing heart. The fear of Alex suddenly vanished seemed to have tightened her chest, squeezing her lungs until they burst. She managed to relax as she watched Alex, but he was caught up with something else. He stared at the garage doorway, shell-shocked.  
  
"Alex?" she asked softly, wondering what he was seeing.  
  
"It -- it's Willie, Jules."  
  
"Oh." Julie was disappointed to discover that she couldn't see Willie, but she was sure now was not a good time to bring that up. Though, watching Alex scramble out from behind his drums, mumbling something to the empty expanse, made her wonder what it looked like to her family and Flynn when she spoke to the boys. "I'll go tell the others. We'll let you two have the room, okay?"  
  
Alex nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

Julie flopped down on her bed with a sigh. "Do you ever listen when I tell you things? Like stay out of my room?"  
  
Luke, who had since made his own space in the corner of Julie's room, did not look up from his songbook. "Sometimes. What's a nice way to say that you'd risk it all for someone? Oh, no, wait, if you were confessing to the love of your life, what would you say?"  
  
Julie turned her head to Luke. "Uh, it sounds pretty good just like that, risk it all. I don't know, my heart beats for you? No, that's cheesy. I'll keep thinking about it."  
  
"Thank you." Luke suddenly looked up. "You sound upset."  
  
"A little, yeah. It's unfair that I can't see Willie. Now it just looks like Alex is talking to nothing and it's making me realise that that's how I look talking to you guys in front of my dad, Carlos and Flynn."  
  
"Willie is here?!"  
  
Julie quickly sat up. "Woah, slow down. I told Alex we'd leave him alone."  
  
"Right," Luke said, sinking back into his little corner, "of course. He just showed up?"  
  
Julie smiled. "Word must've gotten around that we performed again after the Orpheum. He must've put two and two together. Since Reggie is somehow managing to learn photography with my dad, that leaves us to be bored together. Why don't you tell me what you're writing and we can work on it together?"  
  
Luke slammed the book shut. If he had any blood, he was sure it would all collect in his face. "You first. You've been humming the same tune since forever and you're always ignoring it whenever we sit down to write. What's that about?"  
  
Julie studied Luke. "Okay. Boundaries. Got it."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Well played."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Did you tell Reggie?" Luke asked, opening up the book again.  
  
"Yup. He also tried to go down there immediately. It's funny, I was just telling Alex that we should book a few more gig and hope word spreads faster, then maybe Willie would show up and then there he was, making Alex trip over the drums."  
  
"Dork," Luke muttered with a soft laugh, scratching something out in his book.  
  
"It was cute."  
  
"Of course, it was. Hey, I'm sorry you can't see Willie. I know you wanted to meet him."  
  
Julie waved her hand. "It's okay. I have you three idiots."  
  
"Okay, ouch." Luke closed the book and set it on the floor. "How's the homework treating you?"  
  
"Ugh. You and Alex are going to kill me. School is _fine_. We haven't even started the hectic stuff like tests yet."  
  
"Okay, new topic," Luke said quickly, not keen on incurring the wrath of Julie, "we should throw a mini concert for your birthday."  
  
"You want me to be the entertainment at my own party?"  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying that's not what you'd like?"

"I -- you -- you -- shut up."  
  
"See? I do know you."  
  
"Shut up," Julie said again, smiling at her ceiling. "I'm going downstairs. Carlos and I have new episodes to watch. Care to join us?"  
  
"Obviously. Bittersweet Deciet is my favourite binge show."  
  
Grinning, Julie jumped up. She stopped at the edge of her bed and waved her hand in front of her face, as though someone had thrown powder at her. She sputtered a cough out, taking a few seconds to regulate her breathing.  
  
"Jules? Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. Must be dusty in here. I haven't cleaned in a while."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Mhm. Walk with me downstairs?"  
  
Luke smiled and took Julie's hand. He would gladly take any opportunity to be in close contact with Julie. He might have been scared to tell her the truth but he sure as hell wasn't afraid to hold her.  
  
Even if it was in front of Carlos. (Ray was entirely different territory.)  
  
The three of them got through quite a few episodes together before Carlos decided he wanted to go on a permanent snack break. He left Julie with a firm warning to watch something other than their show. Within half an episode of some comedy show, Reggie joined them and by the end of it, Alex had poofed in too.  
  
Julie settled comfortably between her boys and smiled. She loved them so much. Sometimes Reggie joked that she loved them to the point of reviving them. Julie laughed every time but a little voice in the back of her mind prayed for it to be true.  
  
As she glanced at each of her boys in turn, watching as they laughed at the shows they never got to finish in their own time, she knew that they were her family and just like Ray, Carlos and Flynn, Julie would do anything for them.  
  
And when Luke glanced back at her and gave her that sweet, innocent, adoration-filled half smile, she knew that in a heartbeat, she would give up anything for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop next Chapter we hit 20k words those of you who saw my tumblr post you know exactly what to expect


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes, the family gets closer and Carrie almost has a breakdown.

Days turned to weeks, turned to months and they only got closer. Well, that's what they said. Alex, Reggie, Flynn and even Carlos were ready to pull their own and each other's hair out at the way Julie and Luke kept dancing around each other. Julie and her boys had gotten to a point where they could themselves decide when they wanted to be able to hold each other or not. It was handy, being able to still stun crowds by walking through Luke, but also being able to cuddle up close for movie night or starlight sleepovers.  
  
However, Julie and Luke refused to acknowledge anything further than sitting ridiculously close on the couch.  
  
At one point, long after Julie had gone to bed, Alex screamed for a whole minute while Reggie repeatedly beat Luke with a pillow, yelling "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO KISS JULIE?" on repeat. Willie had sat back and wished so desperately that he could have recorded the whole thing to show Julie later.  
  
Despite being unable to see or hear Willie, Julie had managed to form a strong bond with him over loving their little Alex. They communicated the same way the boys did with everyone else without Julie -- via someone's cellphone. Willie, the more tech savvy of the ghosts, taught the boys to meddle with technology as well as some other tricks of the trade that they most often used to make Julie and Carlos laugh. Willie often talked to Julie about Luke when the two of them were alone -- very rare, given how none of the phantoms wanted to leave either of their sides -- and Julie almost always mentioned Alex to distract Willie. It worked. The ghost was absolutely smitten and even if she couldn't hear him, the words she read off her cellphone were almost lyrical. Which was funny, given how non musical Willie was. When he was done waxing poetry about Alex, Willie always spammed Julie with several sad or mildly angry emojis, accusing her of using Alex to avoid talking about her and Luke. Julue neither denied nor confirmed it.  
  
Even Carrie could tell that Julie had something with "the beanie bandmate allergic to sleeves." She'd asked Julie about it once. Julie got incredibly defensive and promptly walked into a wall in the middle of her escape. Carrie never brought it up again, but she always attended Julie and the Phantoms gigs with a knowing smile.  
  
Speaking of, Flynn always spotted Carrie in the crowd at the band's gigs and decided it was high time the girls made up, so she took it upon herself to drag Julie to as many Dirty Candy performances as they could attend. In the beginning, Julie tried to avoid the later ones by claiming her dad wouldn't allow her out, but Ray could clearly see that there was still a friendship to salvage and sent Julie with Flynn, pretending like he couldn't see her murderous glares. But Julie admitted that she enjoyed herself. Alex repeatedly popping up on stage and tossing himself into the routine made it even better.  
  
And best of all, Caleb still hadn't been seen by any of them. Flynn liked to joke about how her bestie managed to kill a dead man.  
  
Really, everything was great for everyone. Even the band thrived. Julie and the Phantoms opened for other popular bands on stages even more famous than the Orpheum. They played more local gigs than they could count. They started recording all their music and handing out CDs again, just to reminisce what Sunset Curve lost out on. They hit streaming sites with higher numbers than they thought was possible. Flynn designed better shirts than Sunset Curve ever had -- even Carrie's dad made an offhand comment about it and Carrie thought he'd looked rather nostalgic. She didn't ask. She knew her dad had been in a band once and she knew he didn't like to talk about it.  
  
There was talk of the band going global, something Ray made certain they all knew was a hard no until Julie had at least graduated high school. Even though they knew it wouldn't be a possibility for at least two years, the band often talked about what it would be like to visit and perform in other countries. Julie and the Phantoms was still referred to as an opening band, but they were getting there. It wasn't much longer.  
  
Of course, it is sometimes the way of the world that tragedy strikes just as one is settling comfortably.

* * *

Julie lifted her head and dropped it hard on Carrie's stomach.  
  
"Witch," Carrie whined, coughing slightly.  
  
"You deserve that," Flynn said, lightly kicking Carrie's shoulder with her fuzzy-sock-clad foot. "We don't joke about Bittersweet Deciet in this house. Julie cried over the season finale."  
  
"Jeez, sorry, I didn't know you liked it that much. I'll try to be nicer about -- Flynn, stop kicking me!"  
  
"You deserve to be kicked."  
  
"I didn't even do anything! I'll bite your foot!"  
  
"You wouldn't dare."  
  
"Kick me one more time and we'll find out."  
  
"Guys," Julie weakly attempted to calm the situation. Truth be told, she was kind of curious to see if Carrie would actually try to bite Flynn's foot.  
  
"Flynn, I'm not kidding, I'll bite you."  
  
Flynn laughed. "Try."  
  
Julie's head suddenly hit the floor as Carrie rolled over and snapped at Flynn's quickly retreating foot.  
  
"Ow! Carrie!" Julie sat up, rubbing the back of her head lightly.  
  
"Flynn! Get back here!"  
  
Laughing, Flynn scrambled from the floor to the couch, seating herself on the edge of the backrest. Satisfied with the distance between them, Carrie dragged herself back to her spot and laid down again.  
  
"So, Julie Bean, what were we talking about?"  
  
"I don't know," Julie lied, hoping neither of them remembered Carrie asking Julie who she was crushing on. "Oh, right, food."  
  
Carrie scrunched her nose up. "Are you sure? Can't be, I just told you five minutes ago that the food will be here soon. Flynn, what were we talking about?"

"Julie's fake boyfriend," Flynn said, shooting Julie a smirk and ignoring the thunderous murder-glare she received.  
  
"Right! Beanie bandmate. What's his name again? Lucas?"  
  
"Just Luke," Julie corrected, "and he's not my fake anything."  
  
"Oh, a _real_ boyfriend, then?" Carrie asked, sharing a grin with flymn. "How does it work out with him being a hologram?"  
  
"He visits," Julie gritted out, regretting it instantly. It was the same lie Luke had given Nick and now Julie gave it to Carrie. The only problem was that unlike Nick, Carrie wasn't going to forget this and she most definitely wasn't going to drop it.  
  
"Oh, how sweet! When do I get to meet him?"  
  
"Yeah, Julie, when does she get to meet me?"  
  
Julie jumped slightly and her face burned several shades darker as soon as Luke opened his mouth. "Go away," she grumbled, pushing Carrie as well.  
  
Flynn noticed Julie's furtive glances to her side and judging by the colour of Julie's face, she could tell which phantom was tormenting her.  
  
"Yeah, Julie," Flynn said, "since you and Carrie are back to being besties, you owe her that, right?"  
  
"I hate you. All of you."  
  
Luke laughed and leaned closer to Julie. "No, you don't."  
  
She knew the only reason he refrained from making any contact was to keep his actual state a secret from Carrie or she was sure the teasing would be a lot worse. It didn't help that Flynn only smiled mischievously. Julie knew Flynn knew exactly what was going on.  
  
Julie suddenly sneezed, accidentally slapping herself to avoid sneezing on Luke. His laugh shook his entire body as he fell over backwards and rolled on the floor. Julie watched with her fond smile reserved for her boys. Flynn had started calling it Julie's phantom face.

"Dreaming about beanie bandmate?" Carrie teased.  
  
The ringing doorbell made Julie shoot up instantly. "I'll get it!"  
  
Carrie and Flynn shared an amused glance as Julie fled her living room, sneezing two more times. Luke sat back on the floor and smiled after her. He was glad Carrie and Flynn couldn't see him, and that Alex and Reggie stayed in the garage, or he would have instantly become the butt of several jokes about being head over heels for Julie. Not that he'd ever have the guts to tell her that -- not when he knew he couldn't do that to her, when she still had her whole life ahead of her to spend with someone alive. But it was nice while it lasted and he was going to make sure the sentiment stayed true.  
  
"Carrie, what is this stuff?" Julie asked as she returned with a box that she was staring at very suspiciously.  
  
"It's called a mystery meal, but it's pretty much chips and franks and maybe a bit of cheese if you're lucky. The girls and I have one every second rehearsal. Very unhealthy, but everyone deserves a cheat day, right?"  
  
"Right," Flynn said.  
  
"I'm gonna have to pass," Julie said, handing the box to Flynn. "Sounds delicious, but I'm already feeling nauseous at the thought of it. I'm gonna just steal all of this."  
  
Carrie eyed the packet Julie held up. "Are those my Cinnabon sticks? Julie Molina, you better not be threatening to eat my Cinnabon sticks."  
  
"I'm not threatening to eat them, I am eating them."  
  
Carrie sighed dramatically and joined Flynn on the couch. "Fine, but only because you're a sickly little whiny child. Don't sneeze or cough into that, I wanna be able to eat what you can't finish."  
  
"I am not sickly!"  
  
"But it has been going on for a while," Flynn said, "you keep sneezing and coughing every odd day and frankly, it's starting to get worrying. Are you sure you're not walking face first into any other dust clouds of doom?"  
  
Julie could feel Luke tense up behind her. Dust cloud of doom was exactly what Reggie had referred to Caleb's escaping form as. She shook her head. "No, I'm sure it's nothing. Besides, you might never know if I just lied to get Care Bear's Cinnabon sticks."  
  
Carrie scoffed. "Nice try, but everyone knows you're a sucky liar. Though, if it's been going on a while, maybe you should see a doctor. Your birthday is coming up now in November and you don't want to miss throwing that big perfomance you were talking about because you're sick."  
  
"I agree with her," Luke said, "even if it's not Caleb, you should still get it checked out. This doesn't seem like a normal flu, Jules."  
  
"I know," Julie said, mostly to Luke, "but I'm fine. It's just . . . passing through my system. I'll be fine in a couple days at most."  
  
"If you say so," Carrie said, shrugging. "But I would like to be the one to kick your sorry ass if you're not."  
  
"I'll help," Flynn said, "but if we're all done, I'd like to get the movie started. You know Julie's out by one all the time and we need her to actually finish watching the movie this time. We've been trying for weeks."  
  
"All right, all right. I'm ready."  
  
Luke settled near Julie. Just close enough to feel her presence without actually touching her. Even if Caleb was really gone, he didn't think he'd ever be able to leave Julie's side for longer than an hour -- and that was pushing it.

* * *

Julie was not fine within a couple days. If anything, she had gotten worse. Flynn joked about more dust clouds of doom, but after a text to her phone from an unknown number -- which she later found out was Willie playing with technology -- she dialled it back. The phantoms didn't find it as funny as they knew Flynn meant it to be. They didn't want to say anything to her, so Willie did.  
  
"Knock knock, Julie Bean. I think I've got rice down, and I figured you could use something bland and duh to eat and if you throw up, the internet says that means you're getting rid of whatever's making you sick, so either way, my rice is here to solve the problem."   
  
Julie peeked out from under her pillow. "Aw, Reg, you're the best," she said, stretching one hand out.  
  
Beaming, Reggie put the bowl in her hand.  
  
"No, you dork, I wanted your hand."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
Julie squeezed Reggie's hand gently before using him to help her sit up. "Thanks, Reg. I don't know how many levels of panic my dad would be on if you guys weren't here, looking after me round the clock."  
  
"We don't mind, Jules," Reggie said, sitting on the edge of her bed. He set the bowl on her nightstand before helping her get comfortable. He settled at her side and gently pushed her hair back. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Like a million bucks," Julie said, smiling weakly.  
  
Reggie snapped his fingers in front of Julie's face when she looked like she was dozing off. "You need to eat _something,_ Julie. You haven't eaten in almost a full day."  
  
"I drank water, though."  
  
"And that's good but you need to eat too. Do you want me to get Alex in here?"  
  
Julie managed to scowl at Reggie. "That's manipulative, even for you."  
  
"Come on, eat or I'll have to make you -- and I don't have to remind you that I'm not the best at taking care of people."  
  
"You are the best at taking care of our Julie, though," Carlos said from the doorway.  
  
Reggie jerked, startled. He still wasn't used to people catching him whenever Julie held on to him. A quick glance at Julie's butterfly bedsheets confirmed that she still had a loose grip on his hand.  
  
"You look horrible," Carlos said.  
  
"Ha ha," Julie mumbled, but she was smiling.  
  
Carlos crawled onto Julie's bed and sat on her other side. Reggie immediately knew what he wanted before he even put his hands out. Still holding Julie's hand, Reggie passed the bowl of plain rice to Carlos, who tasted a spoonful before nodding at Reggie.  
  
"That good? Thanks, man."  
  
"Open up!" Carlos told Julie. "Here comes the airplane!"  
  
"You are so embarrassing," Julie complained, but she let Carlos feed her. She knew he liked to feel like a big brother, despite being half her height.  
  
Luke stopped in the doorway and watched the trio. He knew Julie loved them all but Reggie . . . Reggie was her brother in every way that Carlos was. Luke knew she bonded with and loved Reggie the most and honestly, it didn't bother him half as much as he thought it would. Reggie needed more family outside the band anyway, and even if Julie didn't love him most, Ray often seemed to forget he only had one son. Luke frowned at his own thoughts. That wasn't right. Nothing really mattered. If Ray wanted, then Ray had two sons and Julie had two brothers. Even if one of them happened to be a ghost.  
  
Besides, they never let him or Alex feel left out. But he didn't want to be seen right then. Julie was with her brothers and Reggie needed some time with Julie to convince himself that she was going to be okay. They all did. Luke hated to think of it but he knew that if Julie met the same fate they did so many years ago, Reggie was going to take it the hardest.  
  
Because just as Julie loved him the most, he loved Julie more than they did. And if anything ever happened to Julie . . . well, Luke knew that he himself would go ballistic. He didn't want to know what Reggie would do.

* * *

Assignments and tests started at school and Julie didn't get any better. She also, for the first time since Flynn started her on it, missed a Dirty Candy performance at a Halloween party. That was what she was most upset about, something Carrie felt incredibly touched by.

Carrie and Flynn visited with reports of what had happened at school that day. Julie teased them for bonding without her, a fact they both vehemently denied and claimed it was just their mutual need to worry about Julie that kept them from killing each other. Julie appreciated the laughs they gave her.  
  
After they left, Ray would come in and check on her. He'd sit for a while and talk about anything and everything. Julie loved to listen to him enthuse about his work.  
  
Then Julie would take a nap. When she woke, the boys were always there, wearing the most relieved faces. She knew why. They didn't mention it, so she didn't. They talked about what the band would do when Julie got better. They teased Julie about how she was purposefully delaying finishing school because she was afraid of leaving her dad when they made it big and went on a world tour. Julie reminded them that there was a seventy percent chance Ray would join them on tour.  
  
Tia Victoria visited soon after Julie's nap and Julie had to focus very hard on not laughing while the boys acted like fools behind Victoria. They would later say it was good, because staying focused meant Julie was staying awake. It had taken a lot of courage on her part for Tia Victoria to step into the house again, and Julie made Reggie swear not to do any scary ghostly stuff when she visited. Carlos tried to bribe Reggie into scaring Victoria, but Reggie knew better than to cross Julie.  
  
Alex would leave first to spend some time with Willie and update him on Julie. Reggie would leave next to sit with Ray and discuss dinner. Luke would trust Reggie to keep Ray busy and crawl into Julie's bed to hold her tight and promise himself that he won't let anything happen to her. Julie would relax and drift off in Luke's arms, feeling safer than she had ever felt before.  
  
Carlos would peep in then and watch Luke brush Julie's hair away from her face, staring at her with the very same look his mom used to give his dad. Carlos would quietly leave and if Reggie's strategy wasn't working, Carlos would distract Ray.  
  
Luke would wake Julie when Alex and Reggie both returned and he'd help her down the steps to sit on the couch and eat dinner with Ray and Carlos. The boys would crowd around Julie so they could all talk and laugh together. Reggie, Alex and Carlos would help Ray clean up and Luke would take Julie back to bed. By this time, Julie would be exhausted and Luke almost always ended up carrying a sleeping Julie to bed. Flynn would show up to help Julie get ready for bed and when the whole house was finally asleep, the boys would pop into Julie's room and lay around her like house cats. They'd stay silent, refusing to say what they were all thinking.  
  
Julie wasn't getting any better. At all.

* * *

"We should probably get her to see a doctor again," Flynn said, "it's been a week of this."  
  
"I've been saying that for the past two days," Carrie said, rolling her eyes. "I also said we should kidnap Julie and take her to see Doctor Alonso at his practice but apparently, that's illegal."  
  
"Whatever. You have Julie's work, right?"  
  
"Yeah. You've got her keys?"  
  
Flynn fished the house keys out of her bag's side pocket and jingled them in front of Carrie. "Julie's dad entrusted us with Julie's keys. I'm taking that responsibility very seriously."  
  
"Or you just wanna impress him so he asks us to stay for dinner because you really want to know what special dishes he's cooked up."  
  
Flynn pushed the gate open and let Carrie in before letting it swing shut again. "Can you blame me? The man's second talent is cooking!"  
  
"Well, ya missed your shot. Carlos has baseball today, which means we're alone with Julie Bean and since she's totally out of it, you have no one to impress."  
  
"Negative Nancy."  
  
"Show-off Suzy."  
  
"Wh-- that's not a thing."  
  
"It is now. I said so."  
  
Flynn rolled her eyes as she opened the door. She could hear the sound of something playing on the TV. So one of the phantoms were downstairs. As she passed by the living room, she glanced at the TV. Well, if Doctor Who was on, that meant it had to be Luke holding the remote. It was kind of endearing how excited Luke got about the show. As she led Carrie up the steps, dismissing the TV as Ray probably forgetting to turn it off, Flynn wondered if any of the phantoms were in Julie's room with her.  
  
She gently knocked on the door as she pushed it open. "Jules? Are you up?"  
  
Flynn's voice when entering Julie's room was always softer that it had ever been. It amazed Carrie that Flynn had a volume that low.  
  
Carrie set Julie's work alongside the rapidly growing pile that Julie had yet to touch before cautiously stepping to the bed, in case Julie was asleep. "Hey, Julie Bean, we brought your homework."  
  
Asleep or not, Julie knew when to expect Carrie and Flynn and within seconds of their voices in the room, she would stir to life. Julie didn't sleep deeply anymore anyway. Flynn set her bag down and pulled put her phone to let Ray know they'd arrived and were checking in on Julie. She glanced around the room once. If either of the other two phantoms were in there, they would have let her know by now.  
  
"Julie Bean? Jules?"  
  
Flynn looked up from her contacts list. "Carrie, she's sleeping. Let her."  
  
"Julie?" Carrie ignored Flynn and reached for Julie's hand. She drew back quickly. "Flynn, she's ice cold."  
  
"What?" Flynn dropped her phone and almost fell to the floor at Julie's bedside. "Jules, can you hear me? Julie, we brought your homework."  
  
Carrie's eyes began to water. She just got her best friend back. She was just starting to be loved by Julie again. There was so much more she wanted to share with Julie -- and Flynn. She couldn't lose Julie. Not now, not ever.  
  
"Julie," Flynn almost shouted. Meeting Carrie's gaze was like hearing Carrie's thoughts. The same thoughts she had been repressing for days. Julie was supposed to be fine. She said so. Carrie's very expensive doctor said so. Everyone said so. "Julie!"   
  
Carrie backed away from Julie. Part of her wished she'd never reconnected with Julie but a smarter part of her knew guilt and regret woukd eat her alive worse than whatever what coming her way.  
  
"Julie, come on. Wake up! Jules, just open your eyes, please. Look at me. Come on, Julie. LUKE!"  
  
The name startled Carrie out of her spiralling pit. "Luke?"  
  
Flynn was struggling to stay composed. "LUKE, IT'S JULIE!"  
  
Carrie heard several items falling downstairs before complete silence filled the whole house. Already backed up into Julie's dresser, Carrie screamed and tumbled to the floor with all of Carrie's homework when someone appeared in front of Flynn. Neither of them paid Carrie any attention as her hand dislodged a book that fell open beside her and she turned to study the page.  
  
Julie's name was written at the top of the page, bold and and underlined. The same chicken scratch handwriting continued below, scratched out and with notes on the side complaining about how awful and cheesy and stupid the lyrics were and the lack of rhymes. It was clear the song was very much still a work in progress, just scattered ideas that had no real tie to each other aside from all definitely being about Julie. The few words Carrie could read sounded very heartfelt, despite all the angry scratching around it.  
  
 _ ~~I'd die~~ for you I'd die ~~again and again~~ once, twice and even thrice too_  
 _My heart stopped ~~beating~~ decades ago_  
 _And yet now it still beats for you --_ the rest of the lines were scribbled over. Clearly, it wasn't thought to be good enough.  
  
Carrie looked up at the boy, Luke, leaning over Julie, shouting her name and feeling her hands and face, searching for life. She watched as he turned halfway and yelled something to a shaking Flynn, who nodded and snatched up her phone. Carrie's own heart pounded in her ringing ears. The look on his face was pure terror. It struck fear into Carrie's bones and numbed her whole body.  
  
Carrie's gaze flicked between Flynn, shaking and crying into the phone, and Luke, refusing to cry as he held Julie's hands in one of his, the other pushing her hair back, staing moving in an attempt to conceal the shake.  
  
So this is who he was. The boy Julie loved. All Carrie could think was that he so clearly loved her too.  
  
And he was just as afraid as Carrie was.  
  
As the pounding in Carrie's head faded and the ringing subsided, she realised Flynn was talking.  
  
". . . they'll get to her in time, Luke."  
  
"They have to," Luke said, still looking at Julie, "we -- I'm nothing without her. You know that."  
  
"I know. I -- she'll be okay, right?"  
  
The solemn look that he gave Flynn broke whatever semblance of control Carrie had left and she pressed her hands to her mouth, muffling a wracking sob.  
  
"She has to be. I . . . I don't know what I'll do if she isn't."  
  
"Luke. . ."  
  
"I'm here, Julie," Luke said, quickly turning back to Julie.  
  
The sound of Julie's voice, no matter how weak and strained, was like a breath of fresh air to Carrie. She gasped and pulled herself to her feet, but she didn't dare get any closer and separate Luke and Julie.  
  
"You're flickering."  
  
"No, I'm not," Luke argued. He was ignoring it. They all were. But now that she had said it, Flynn and Carrie both noticed that he was indeed flickering. Carrie was confused but Flynn understood almost instantly. Julie was what made Luke visible. Without her, he was just another ghost.  
  
And if Luke was fading from right in front of her . . . so was Julie.  
  
"Shh, you're just tired. You'll be fine. Flynn called for help, okay?"  
  
Julie offered Luke a tired smile. Her eyes stayed closed. "Promise me. . ."  
  
"Anything for you, Julie, you know that."  
  
"Look after 'em. Don't leave."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere, Julie, and neither are you."  
  
As the sounds of an ambulance filled the entire street, Julie's grip on Luke slackened almost completely.  
  
"Julie? Julie, this isn't funny. Julie, come on."  
  
In the chaos the arrival of EMTs caused, no one saw Luke vanish when Julie was ripped away from him.  
  
Well, no one but Carrie. Carrie thought the ground was swallowing her up whole. Maybe she'd sink through the floor and fall into the living room, where Julie would be curled up on the floor and shrieking with laughter at Carrie's misfortune. The pounding of her heart grew louder again and the ringing started up again. Her vision blurred. She thought it was with tears but she couldn't be sure. Her head throbbed and she struggled to breathe. Flynn pulled her up.  
  
"Come on," Flynn said, dragging Carrie after Julie.  
  
Flynn wanted nothing more than to get into that ambulance with Julie, but Carrie was very clearly having a panic attack. There wasn't much Flynn could do for Julie except-- "You better stay with her, Luke! Did you hear me?"  
  
Flynn saw the doors to the back of the ambulance close on their own after the EMTs and she relaxed slightly. Luke was with Julie. Luke was with her.  
  
"Carrie -- Carrie, look at me. She's going to be fine, okay? You hear? She has to be. Carrie, breathe! Slowly. With me, Care Bear. Breathe in, hold . . . and out."  
  
It was the nickname more than anything else that grounded Carrie. That was Julie's nickname for her. It was old, as old as their friendship. They'd decided on it when they were both still learning to spell their own names. The nickname was tied to Julie. It was _Julie's_ and no one else's.  
  
"Don't you _ever_ call me that."  
  
Relief at successfully calming Carrie flooded Flynn's body and in a brief moment of weakness, she laughed and hugged Carrie. It didn't last long because she quickly pulled back and stared at Carrie. "Julie's dad is on his way!"  
  
Grabbing Carrie's arm, Flynn sprinted down the pathway, dragging the startled and distanced Carrie after her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say I'm sorry but I am very much Not


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carrie finds out about the band

"What?"   
  
If possible, all the colour drained from Reggie's face. Flynn, of course, didn't know that, so Alex took over and typed a message into her phone, tilting it to show her.  
  
 _Is Luke with her?_  
  
"Yeah. He left in the ambulance with her. Julie's dad picked me and Carrie up. I said I'd come back here to get some clothes for her, 'cause they might wanna keep her in there, but I knew you guys would come back here. Is -- is Willie here too?"  
  
Alex took a few seconds to type out his response.   
  
_Can you take us there? And no, I'll tell him later. We should get to Luke._

"Right," Flynn nodded. "Um, when you get there, could you . . . could one of you come back out and tell me if she looks okay? I'm -- I'm scared."  
  
Alex attempted a hug, sighing when he remembered he was a ghost. But Flynn had felt _something_. And it was comforting. She smiled. "Thanks, Alex."   
  
_:) lead the way._  
  
Flynn gripped the shoulder straps of the bag tightly and started walking, trusting Reggie and Alex to follow. The walk to the hospital wasn't very long. It wasn't short either, but Flynn had walked further before. She just hoped the boys were right with her.   
  
Alex cast worried glances at Reggie as they walked. He'd never seen Reggie quiet. Not even when he was sulking and ignoring everyone. Reggie always made some sort of noise. Either he was humming something, mumbling words out, talking to himself or tapping a beat out on the nearest surface. Even furious, Reggie muttered to himself under his breath. Terrified, Reggie sang nursery rhymes to himself. Reggie was never truly quiet. But as they walked, Alex found he cound barely even hear Reggie's footsteps.   
  
Luke was right to worry about Reggie, but right then, Alex couldn't help but worry about Luke more.

* * *

"Jesus Christ," Alex managed once he and Reggie found Julie.   
  
Luke lifted his head from the scratchy blanket just before Reggie grabbed Julie's hand. "Don't touch her. No one's allowed in here and anyway, Julie will find a way to kill us if we expose the band's secret."   
  
"Right." The hopeful way Luke talked about Julie brought a little bit of the old Reggie back.   
  
Alex couldn't look at Julie without thinking that she wouldn't be leaving the hospital on her own feet. "Uh, Flynn asked if one of us could go back out and let her know how Julie is. Will you guys be okay?"  
  
Reggie leaned against the wall, careful not to rattle any of the equipment. "Yeah. We'll be fine."  
  
Alex nodded before poofing out.   
  
"How are _you_?" Reggie asked.   
  
"Fine," Luke said, sighing and leaning back in the chair he'd managed to steal and slowly manoeuvre to Julie's bedside. "I'm fine, I just . . . I can't get Flynn's voice out of my head. She was terrified, screaming for -- for me. To help Julie."  
  
"I'm sorry, man, I knew I should have stayed--"   
  
"No, it's not your fault. It's--"  
  
"Caleb."  
  
Luke glanced up from Julie. "Okay, look, I know none of us like this but let's not jump to conclusions. None of us have seen Caleb since Julie kicked his ass into thin air. Not even Willie. Reg, don't do anything stupid."   
  
"I won't," Reggie promised, looking down at Julie, "provided she walks out of here just fine."  
  
"Reggie. . ."  
  
"Admit it, you'd do the same."  
  
Luke fell silent. He dropped his hand on the bed, so close to Julie's. He just wanted to hold her hand again, feel her warm skin, hear her soft little snores. But he couldn't.   
  
"Luke?" Reggie's voice had lost the edge his earlier rage gave it. It was soft and scared, the same voice a thirteen year old Reggie used to inform Luke that his parents were in a bad fight and that's why he was crawling through Luke's bedroom window. Looking up at Reggie only further reminded Luke of an absolutely terrified young teen, wrapped up in a spare blanket and sitting in front of the fireplace, trying to forget the fights he had seen. "What happens if -- if Julie -- if Julie doesn't make it?"  
  
"She will," Luke said firmly, but doubt had already creeped into his mind.  
  
Yes, he couldn't get Flynn's terrified screaming out of his head. But he also couldn't get Julie's soft requests put of his head, whispered as she clutched his hand tighter than before.

* * *

Carrie had, post nearly breaking down, gathered enough wits about her to get her father to call their doctor for Julie. Carrie trusted him with her life. He was the doctor that made sure her splint was decorated with glitter when she was twelve and managed to fracture her finger tripping over a loose stone. He was the doctor that always tried to get Carrie the sugarcoated pills and flavoured cough syrups when she was sick. He was the doctor that always listened to stories about her dance group and let her complain or yell or vent to distract her from the flu shot she was getting. He was the doctor that made sure Carrie's fractured arm healed well enough that she could still dance afterwards.  
  
So, Carrie knew he was a good doctor and she also knew he had great bedside manners. But right then, Carrie wanted nothing more than to kick him in his shins and send him on his way.   
  
"What do you mean, she's not fine? She has to be. It's just food poisoning. Everyone gets food poisoning. How can she not be fine?"  
  
Behind Flynn, Alex wanted to laugh. It wasn't really funny, but the idea of Carrie arguing against food poisoning being able to kill while standing in front of someone who died eating a bad hot dog . . . well, that had some humour to it.   
  
"Carrie, I need you to calm down for me. I need to talk to Julie's dad first, okay?"   
  
Carrie folded her arms. "Fine. You'll tell me and Flynn later, right Mr Molina?"   
  
Ray nodded numbly and followed Carrie's doctor into the corridor.   
  
Flynn flashed her phone where she hoped Alex was standing. _Follow them, please_.   
  
All the drama and panic had exhausted Carlos, who had planned on coming home to a shower and at least an hour of lazing around, and the young boy was fast asleep across three chairs. Carrie sat down across him.   
  
"Flynn . . . who is Luke, really? All of them, actually."  
  
"Oh, boy. Okay, here we go."

* * *

Ray looked up from the badge that read the doctor's last name, Alonso. "Ricin? What the hell is that?"  
  
"It . . . It's a poison. Highly toxic. If inhaled, which seems to be the case with Julie, here, it starts showing symptoms within hours. Respiratory problems like being unable to breathe, or something as simple as coughing. It goes unnoticed at first, being discarded as flu symptoms."   
  
Alex's eyes widened. Julie had been having those symptoms for months. Ever since Caleb left Nick.   
  
"Mr Molina, you have to understand that we're doing our best but Julie's case is . . . strange."   
  
"How so?"  
  
"It looks like she's had prolonged exposure to the poison. Which is impossible. Ricin is fatal in _days or less_. You can't have prolonged exposure to something that usually does the job in hours -- on average."  
  
"Prolonged exposure? And can that happen by accident?"  
  
"In an average household with an average lifestyle? Next to impossible. I understand Julie is in a band that performs all over, but still, it's incredibly unlikely. Exposure to ricin is generally on purpose and it's intentional."   
  
"So, someone poisoned my daughter. Is that what you're saying?"  
  
"That's what it looks like. She's fighting to stay alive, Mr Molina, and we're fighting to help her."  
  
"And what else are you saying? _Can_ you save her?"  
  
Alex waited with bated breath. He was the one that was going to have to deliver the news -- and it wasn't good. He could tell.

* * *

"Ghosts," Carrie said after a few seconds of silence. "Okay. Uh, who else knows?"   
  
"Carlos and their dad. No one else knows about them, as far as I know. Julie may have told someone, but I doubt she'd be able to hide that she told from me and the guys. Maybe Luke's parents suspect. I don't know anything about Reggie or Alex's families."   
  
Ray returned before Carrie could offer her critical opinion. Both she and Flynn discarded their conversation and looked at him.   
  
"What did Doctor Alonso say?" Flynn asked. "Is Julie gonna be okay?"   
  
In a numbed zombie-like state, Ray dropped into a seat next to Carlos. Flynn's phone buzzed. She read it aloud for Carrie.   
  
"It's Alex. He says Julie was poisoned. Doctor says they're. . ." Flynn trailed off, her hand dropping into her lap as she looked up at Ray. She finished in a whisper. "Trying their best."   
  
"Trying their best?" Carrie echoed. "Wh-- what the hell does that mean? Is Julie gonna be okay or not?"   
  
Flynn's phone buzzed again and this time, Carrie read the message herself.

_I don't think so._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one feels shorter than most ... is it??
> 
> LAST CHAPTER IN EDITING ARE YOU READY TO SEE IT????


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke thinks about the night he died and grief rips through everyone uniquely

"Reggie! Reggie, stop! Luke, stay with Julie. _REGINALD_!"  
  
Luke had every intention of following Alex, but a weak tug on his hand made him stop. He was sure he'd imagined it, but nevertheless, he decided to stay. He remembered dying. The feeling of being so alone despite Alex and Reggie right there with him. He wished the only contact he had wasn't that of an EMT desperately trying to save him. He would have given anything to hold the hand of one of his bandmates. Hell, he would have been a little more at peace if that girl from the Orpheum had sat there and held his hand.  
  
So he sat and knowing that he wasn't allowed to be there, he took hold of Julie's hand and held tight. He'd deal with any consequences later.  
  
Ray and Carlos had come and gone. Flynn and Carrie would be there soon and then there would be too many people at Julie's bedside. But until they did arrive, he would stay with Julie, holding her hand, and making sure she wasn't alone.  
  
Flynn and Carrie stopped behind Luke. Neither of them had to tell the other to be quiet. They both stood still and waited. And they listened.  
  
"Jules," Luke said softly, "I know you can hear me. I also know that if you wake up, you probably won't remember this. But if you don't, then at least you wouldn't have been alone and quiet for so long. I remember hearing all the shouting and screaming and the sirens. It was terrifying. I hope you're not too afraid. I'm here, we're all here. And if you're holding on to a piece of straw just for us . . . you can let go."  
  
Flynn balled her hands up into fists, digging her nails into her palms. Carrie bit down on her bottom lip -- hard. Neither of them wanted to hear Luke telling Julie to let go, but both of them were rooted to the spot. To the bustling nurses, it probably looked like they were simply waiting for Luke to leave so that they could sit with Julie.  
  
"I know how hard it is to struggle and stay grasping at nothing. I didn't want Reggie or Alex to be alone and I made sure they weren't. You don't have to." Luke paused and pressed a gentle kiss against the back of her hand. "I love you so much, Julie, and there is nothing I want more than for you to live and just be great. But if you let go, none of us are going to blame you for it. I know you're tired, Jules. It's okay."  
  
Carrie inhaled sharply when Luke began to fizzle before her own eyes. She was still skeptical about the ghosts -- she was in the middle of an incoming panic attack back at Julie's house, she could have been hallucinating -- but watching as Luke flickered and faded in and out of her vision, Carrie was starting to believe. She wished she wasn't, because now she knew what Flynn knew.  
  
Julie was slipping away.  
  
Carrie spun on her heel and fled. Flynn hesitated, torn, but she ultimately decided to go after Carrie. Julie had Luke, who knew what he was talking about and who loved her enough to let her go. Carrie was alone. It broke her heart to leave Julie, but she knew -- or she at least hoped -- that Julie would have wanted someone to look out for her Care Bear.  
  
Luke closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Julie's hand. "I love you and I'm _so_ sorry I was so afraid to say it. I promise that if you wake up, I'll say it again and again and again until you tell me to stop . . . and if you don't . . . well, it's not going to change the way I feel."

* * *

Reggie was furious.  
  
Even Alex was hesitant to approach the bassist. After chasing Reggie through the busy streets of LA, Alex had managed to find Willie and together, they talked Reggie out of storming the Hollywood Ghost Club.  
  
It did nothing to soften Reggie's mood.  
  
He hadn't said a word since he promised not to confront Caleb alone. If Alex thought quiet Reggie was worrying, he didn't know what to call a silent Reggie.  
  
"Reg, come on, don't you want to see Julie? Luke's still with her and I think he'll be glad to see you. I'm sure she'll want to hear your voice before she--"  
  
Reggie shot Alex a very frightening look that Alex couldn't quiet decipher before poofing out. Alex knew Reggie wasn't pissed at him, but he couldn't shake the feeling. He hated it. He wanted his old friend back, lighthearted and smiling. He wasn't sure if he could take much more of this new Reggie. It very nearly broke his heart.  
  
Grabbing Willie's hand, he followed Reggie.  
  
Somehow, this new sight was worse than Julie and the machines doing her breathing for her.  
  
Reggie stood beside Luke and watched Julie with a weaker version of his earlier expression, eyes shining with fear and grief together. Luke, still sitting on the chair, had wrapped his arms around Reggie and buried his face into Reggie's black shirt. Reggie's hand on Luke's head did very little to offer comfort.  
  
Alex swallowed his own fear and approached the pair of them. It didn't take longer than a few seconds for Reggie to completely fall apart and quite suddenly, it was the 90s and they'd just all run away from home with no one but each other. They'd all gone to Bobby and he had kept them safe, making sure they had somewhere to stay. But they were alone and Bobby wasn't going to pick them up ever again.  
  
Neither was Julie.  
  
And then machines were frantically beeping and nurses were shouting urgently. Several of them passed through the boys to get to Julie. Willie had just managed to herd them out of the way when it suddenly clicked in Luke's head.  
  
"JULIE!"  
  
It took both Alex and Willie to hold Luke back. Reggie had frozen.  
  
Alex had long since accepted that Julie wasn't going to make it. He'd been there when the doctor spoke to Ray. He'd been there and he could tell there was so much hope but very little chance. It hurt him worse than any of Caleb's jolts, but accepting it was easier than trying to fight it.  
  
Reggie couldn't -- or wouldn't -- process the scene in front of him. He stood still as a statue, unable to tear his eyes away. Simmering rage was quickly giving way to a hollow emptiness. Julie was everything to him. He couldn't lose her. But even as he desperately wished for her to be okay, he already knew it was futile.  
  
Luke screamed and kicked and flailed and screamed even more. _Get to Julie_ , he thought, _get to Julie_. He suddenly regretted telling Julie to let go because now she had and his heart was slowly cracking and fracturing. Any moment now it would completely shatter. He fought Alex and Willie, desperately trying to get to Julie. Whether or not she was going to make it didn't matter right then. All he could think of was that she was alone and she shouldn't have had to be. He didn't stop fighting until the doctors did.  
  
Luke turned and walked away. On autopilot, Reggie followed.  
  
"You know where they're going to go," Willie said softly.  
  
"Yeah. I know."  
  
Willie nodded after them. "Go stop them. I'll stay here and watch over these guys for you."  
  
"I -- thank you."  
  
"Anything for you. Come back, okay, hotdog?"  
  
Alex nodded firmly. He pulled Willie into a hug and though he loved the way Willie's arms wrapped around him and held tight, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that it felt more like a last hug than a good luck charm. 

* * *

Alex's protests and pleads fell on deaf ears. Once they'd walked out of the hospital, Luke and Reggie poofed out. Alex followed without a second thought. He pleaded with Luke to stop and think about what he was doing, to think about where they were.  
  
The Hollywood Ghost Club was clearly preparing for a big event and Alex had to jump to avoid the other ghosts. Luke had no such reservations. The clear fury in his eyes made Caleb's 'employees' spring out of the way -- some with a fearful yelp.  
  
Alex grabbed Luke's shoulders, forcing him to stop. "Think about this. Julie wouldn't want you or any of us near Caleb. She needs us--"  
  
"She's _dead_ , Alex," Luke said plainly, staring at Alex with an unreadable expression, "and she's dead because of Caleb."  
  
"Fine. Then her _family_ needs us. Flynn, Carlos, Ray, Carrie. _They_ need us."  
  
The pair were so caught up in arguing with each other, neither noticed that Reggie was missing until several horrified gasps and a few terrified shouts filled the room, rendering it silent for a few seconds.  
  
Reggie had never been the violent one. Luke's short fuse in his younger days had often got him into fights or he would incite someone else with a shorter fuse to blow off some steam. Alex rarely started fights, but he was always there to back Luke up. (Bobby didn't get into fights either -- he was the Dad that had to drag his three bandmates back to garage all while scolding them.) But Reggie was never violent. They didn't think Reggie had it in him to physically hurt someone else.  
  
But the proof that was Caleb Covington getting up on his stage and holding his nose, glaring at Reggie, was undeniable.  
  
A sickening crunch filled the silence when Reggie struck a second blow.  
  
Did ghosts even have bones to break? It didn't matter; Reggie seemed determined to break Caleb's. Being so much taller than Reggie didn't seem to be helping Caleb in the slightest.  
  
Luke realised that _this_ was what Reggie would do if anything happened to Julie. And it terrified him. Just how far would Reggie go?  
  
More importantly, _just how far would he and Alex let Reggie go?_  
  
Caleb attempted one of his tricks, but Reggie cut him off, pulling him to his feet by the collar of his shirt. Ghosts didn't need to breathe, but Caleb really felt as though he were being strangled.  
  
"Come now, Reggie," he rasped, "don't you think you're being a little--"  
  
Caleb's sentence hung unfinished as Reggie mercilessly beat him to the ground. Caleb fumed. How dare Reggie come into _his_ ghost club and promptly embarrass him in front of every ghost whose soul he owned? Though, it wasn't as if Reggie wasn't giving him a chance to fight back.  
  
Reggie yanked Caleb up again and shoved him backwards. Caleb stumbled into the table the boys had sat at so very long ago. The glass centerpiece shattered on the floor and the chairs flew into other tables.

Was it Reggie or Caleb that caused the mess?  
  
Caleb hadn't felt fear until he had looked into Julie Molina's eyes and realised he had _never_ stood a chance with her phantoms. Not as long as she was around. Reggie being this unhinged could only mean one thing.  
  
He began to laugh, almost hysterically.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Reggie's first words since his promise to Alex were soft and dangerous. Though everything about him screamed madness and rage, Reggie's voice was calm and careful. It didn't stay that way for long. Reggie gripped Caleb's shirt, digging his knuckles into Caleb's throat. " ** _WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?!_** "  
  
Caleb grinned, only further infuriating Reggie. He grabbed one of Reggie's wrists. "So, she's dead, then?"  
  
Reggie growled.  
  
"You really shouldn't have come here without her."  
  
A blast, not unlike the jolts that almost ended them once upon a time, threw Reggie into the stage steps. Before Alex or Luke could move to help, Caleb caught them both. When he had all three out cold and laying on the floor of the Hollywood Ghost Club, Caleb stood up taller and fixed his shirt. What a blessing that ghosts had no way to show their injuries. He would be just as glamourous as always for that evening, and it would be _so_ much better now that he had new additions to his band.

* * *

It had been three days and Willie wanted nothing more than to head to the Hollywood Ghost Club to try to bring Alex, Luke and Reggie back, but he knew it was a dumb move. The three of them had a better chance at breaking free on their own than Willie did of getting out unscathed -- and their chances were already close to zero.  
  
But Alex had asked him to look out for Julie's -- for _Alex's_ family, and that was what he was going to do.  
  
"Willie?"   
  
Willie jumped up, delighted to see and hear Alex. The furtive glances Alex kept throwing around dimmed his excitement considerably.  
  
"I can't stay long. We -- we got--"  
  
"I know. I hoped you didn't."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault, hotdog," Willie said, taking Alex's hands in his own.  
  
Alex nodded. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "This place is safest for you. Caleb can't get to you here. Promise me that no matter where you go, you'll always come back here, to this family. We're not giving up, you know, and when we get out, I want to be able to come back to you."  
  
Willie couldn't help the smile. "That's a lot of hopefulness you got with yoh. They could use some of that in there."  
  
Alex glanced in the direction Willie nodded, to the house. "Promise me, Willie."  
  
"I promise. I'll-- I'll stay here and I'll look out for them for you. But you better get out of there, okay?"  
  
"We will. I -- I gotta get back before Caleb realises or he'll come after you and you won't ever be able to leave here. I'll try to sneak away as often as possible but--"  
  
"I know. Alex, I know what he's like." Willie stunned Alex with a gentle, lingering kiss on his cheek. "I'll wait for you."

* * *

Trevor watched as Carrie shoved everything she had that had anything to do with Julie into a box and struggled to close it, going very close to completely losing it when she couldn't close it. Carrie abandoned the box and dropped to the floor, leaning against her bed. She brought her knees up and buried her face in her arms. Her body shook with quiet sobs. Trevor joined her on the floor and pulled her into his lap. Carrie cried for the next ten minutes at least.  
  
Flynn curled herself around an old stuffed animal Julie had won for her at a fair ages ago. She had cried already. She was so exhausted. She didn't know what she was going to do without Julie. Her mother quietly set down a plate of food and a glass of water on the nightstand before sitting down behind Flynn. A comforting hand on Flynn's shoulder was all it took for another round of fresh tears to fall.  
  
Victoria sat on the back of the couch and rested her hand on Ray's shoulder. Neither said a word. First it was Julie's mother and they were all just recovering when Julie herself left. Ray knew it was Caleb and he knew Caleb had the rest of Julie's band. Willie had found a way to tell him. Ray didn't breathe a word of it to anyone. Flynn, Carrie and Carlos didn't need to bear that weight too. Victoria's heart ached for herself and for the Molinas, but she had no idea what to do. It was easy to step in for her sister and to help them grieve and process her sister's death. It was much harder to help them process Julie's when she herself didn't know how to process it.  
  
Carlos hugged Julie's pillow to his chest even as he slept. His cheeks were still wet and the stain on her favourite butterfly sheets said Carlos had probably cried for hours before exhaustion won and he fell asleep. No one else had the strength to enter Julie's room but Carlos found a strange sense of peace in there. He promised to keep it neat and tidy, just in case Julie came back.  
  
Miles and miles away from LA, Alex, Luke and Reggie found themselves bound to another stage of Caleb's. They performed well, but it had no passion, no energy, no life. It was routine, dull and bare minimum. The lifers didn't know any better. As Caleb entranced his guests, the three shared a glance. They would fight to get out, no matter how long it took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW I KNOW BUT HEAR ME OUT
> 
> ~~  
> _I am toying with the idea of a sequel, would you be interested?_  
>  ~~  
> _sequel currently in writing stage_  
>  _will most likely be screaming about it on tumblr if you're interested im lazy to copy the link down, it's on my profile here skfsd_


End file.
